Multiple- and single-objective approaches to laminate optimization with genetic algorithms

In this paper an application of a genetic algorithm to a material- and sizing-optimization problem of a plate is described. This approach has obvious advantages: it does not require any derivative information and it does not impose any restriction, in terms of convexity, on the solution space. The plate optimization problem is firstly formulated as a constrained mixed-integer programming problem with a single objective function. An alternative multiobjective formulation of the problem in which some constraints are included as additional objectives is also presented. Some numerical results are included that show the appropriateness of the algorithm and of the mathematical model for the solution of this optimization problem, as well as the superiority of the multiobjective approach.