Genetic algorithms (GAs) based optimisation of FRP composite plated grillages in ship structures

Abstract

Design optimisation of ship structures is complicated by the material choice and application of Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composites. Their numerous advantages and the number of design, material and fabrication variabilities necessitate a systematic approach for determining the most suitable design solution. The development of an optimisation framework capable of application to composite ship structures is described herein. This broadly consists of structural analyses for exemplar ship structure topologies (e.g. tophat stiffened laminated plates) coupled with a Genetic Algorithm optimisation procedure. With the adoption of a GA, the framework can deal with a number of discrete design variables and search the resulting large design space for a global optimum. The validation of the methodology is presented, as well as a study of the effect of parametric variation and applications to ship structure. ？ 2007: Royal Institution of Naval Architects.