A New Paradigm for the Optimum Design of Variable Angle Tow Laminates

In this work the authors propose a new paradigm for the optimum design of variable angle tow (VAT) composites. They propose a generalisation of a multi-scale two-level (MS2L) optimisation strategy already employed to solve optimisation problems of anisotropic structures characterised by a constant stiffness distribution. In the framework of the MS2L methodology, the design problem is split into two sub-problems. At the first step of the strategy the goal is to determine the optimum distribution of the laminate stiffness properties over the structure, while the second step aims at retrieving the optimum fibres-path in each layer meeting all the requirements provided by the problem at hand. The MS2L strategy relies on: (a) the polar formalism for describing the behaviour of the VAT laminate, (b) the iso-geometric surfaces for describing the spatial variation of the stiffness properties and (c) a hybrid optimisation tool (genetic- and gradient-based algorithms) to perform the solution search. The effectiveness of the MS2L strategy is proven through a numerical example on the maximisation of the first buckling factor of a VAT plate subject to both mechanical and manufacturability constraints.