Multi-objective optimal design of composite box beam using hybrid adaptive harmony search with dynamically reconfigurable harmony memory

Abstract

In the design of helicopter rotor blades, the composite materials are being popularly used, as they are lighter in weight with high specific strength and modulus apart from superior fatigue characteristics. As the performance of the composite materials can be tailored with the optimized layup sequence, the robust optimization algorithms, which cater to this, become necessary. We propose an approach for multi-objective optimization of composite box beam by considering the cross-sectional dimensions and the discrete ply angles as design variables. We present a new improved version of the basic harmony search optimization algorithm by building the features like adaptivity, hybrid search with a customized local search, and multiple sub harmonies with dynamic interaction among them. These features greatly improve both intensification and diversification capabilities of the proposed algorithm. Numerical studies carried out on a box beam clearly reflects the superiority of the proposed approach in providing wider as well as improved design configuration while handling multiple objectives of box-beam design. Finally, we have used a set of performance metrics to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm by comparing with other very recent stochastic algorithms.