Minimizing thermal residual stresses in ceramic matrix composites by using Iterative MapReduce guided particle swarm optimization algorithm

Abstract

The thermal residual stresses (TRSs) induced in ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) with multi-layered interphases when cooling down from the processing temperature, have a significant influence on the mechanical behavior and lifetime of CMCs. The objective of this work is to minimize the TRS of the unidirectional CMCs with multi-layered interphases by controlling the interphases thicknesses. The unit cell finite element models of CMCs with multi-layered interphases are generated and finite element analysis is implemented to determine the TRS. The MapReduce is extended to a new iterative MapReduce which is then combined with classical particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm to develop an iterative MapReduce guided PSO (IMPSO) algorithm. The IMPSO algorithm is interfaced with finite element code to find an optimal design for minimizing the TRS within CMCs. Satisfactory results are obtained for a variety of design cases by comparing IMPSO and PSO.