Optimal stacking sequence of laminated anisotropic cylindrical panel using genetic algorithm

This paper presents stacking sequence optimization of laminated angle-ply cylindrical panel based on natural frequency. Finite element method (FEM) is used to obtain the vibration characteristic of an anisotropic panel using the first order shear deformation theory(FSDT) and genetic algorithm (GA) is used to obtain the optimal stacking sequence of the layers. Cylindrical panel has finite length and arbitrary boundary conditions. The thicknesses of the layers are assumed constant and their angles are specified as design variables. The effect of the number of plies and boundary conditions in the fitness function is considered. Numerical examples are presented for four, six and eight layered anisotropic cylindrical panels.