Abstract: Stacking parameters and the engineering common layer library were used in the stacking sequence optimization of composite stiffened panels, the initial buckling load of the structure was improved without changing the weight of the structure. Due to the large number of FEA calculations and the long calculation time during the optimization process, a fast analysis method for stability of composite stiffened panels which is based on energy method was chosen, whose calculated values are similar to the experimental values and the FEA results. In the optimization process, the stacking parameters were taken as the design variables, and were optimized by MATLAB optimization toolbox. Then, the optimized results are compared with the stacking parameters of the layer library, and the most closed stacking sequence is selected using least square method. Finally, the energy method and finite element method were used to verify whether the buckling load of the optimized structure is improved. The example shows that the optimization method has short operation time and high optimization efficiency, and the buckling load of the optimized stiffened plate is increased by more than 17%.

Key words: composite stiffened panel, stability, stacking sequence optimization, stacking parameters