Optimization of stiffened plates by genetic search

This paper deals with the optimization of stiffeners on plates by varying their positions, while having well-defined dimensions. Considering the nonlinearity, the non-convexity and the discontinuity of this problem, we have chosen to use a stochastic method, that is the genetic algorithm (GA). This work is above all a study of feasibility. Some improvements in the GA have been used and their influence on the convergence of the GA, while varying a number of parameters is made obvious by application on numerical examples and mechanical ones. To our knowledge, the problem in question, that is the topology optimization of the stiffeners on a plate, has not been treated in depth up till now, a fact that gives this subject particular importance.