Computational Mechanics for the Twenty-First Century
Edited by: B.H.V. Topping

Chapter 9

MODELLING AND DESIGN OF LAMINATED COMPOSITE STRUCTURES WITH INTEGRATED SENSORS AND ACTUATORS

The aim of this paper is to present refined finite element models based on higher order displacement fields applied to the optimal design of laminated composite plate structures with embedded and/or surface bonded piezoelectric actuators and sensors. Gradient-based optimization techniques are used to improve the performance of composite adaptive structures subject to behavioral constraints. Simulated annealing, a stochastic global optimization technique is also used to find the optimal location of piezoelectric actuators in order to maximize its efficiency. To show the applicability of the proposed optimization models, two illustrative and simple examples are presented and discussed.

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