A Kind of Optimization Method on Plate-Shell Structures with Stiffeners

Abstract

An new optimization method which combines layout optimization of stiffeners with structural parameters optimization of structures is discussed. The first step is to optimize the layout of stiffenerser, then the structural parameters were optimized. In layout optimization of stiffeners, the strain energy density sensitivities of the elements were used to determine which elements of stiffeners should be deleted. In structural parameters optimization, the object function and the constraint functions were approximated by the second-order Taylor expansion. DFP (Davidon, Fletcher and Powell) method was presented to solve optimal problem. In order to reduce computational effort, the combined approximation (CA) method was used to reanalysis and update the displacements and stresses of the structure. The present method was applied to a bunker. The numerical results show that the optimization method was effective for optimization of plate-shell structure with stiffeners, and it could be to implement on a computer.