Stacking sequence matching by two-stage genetic algorithm with consanguineous initial population^in composite laminates

摘要

This paper proposes a strategy for improving the reliability of the genetic algorithm (GA) for thick laminates based on a two-stage approach. ^In the first stage, the laminate is optimized with a coarse representation of the stacking sequence. ^In the second stage, instead of using a random initial population, the optimum stacking sequence of the first stage is adapted to create an initial population for the second stage. ^The approach is called consanguineous because the entire initial population is descended from this single optimum design. ^Several approaches for creating the consanguineous initial population were tested, and an approach based on expansion and interchange operators proved to be the best. ^The two-stage approach is shown to be much more reliable than the usual single-stage GA. ^(Author)