Probabilistic optimization of laminated composites considering both ply failure and delamination based on PSO and FEM

Reliability-based design is one of major strategies for cost-effective designs under uncertainties in either engineering designs or manufacturing processes. This paper presents an approach integrating particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO) and finite element method (FEM) into the reliability-based design optimization (RBDO). The total weight of the laminate was taken as the objective function, the fiber directional angle and thickness ratio as the design variables. Both in-plane damage and delamination were taken into account. The result shows that the value of object function using the proposed method is much greater than those without considering delamination in literature and demonstrate that the proposed method produces more conservative result.