Multi-objective optimization of frequency and damping of vertical stabilizer skin structure placed with variable-angle tows

The vibration characteristics of composite vertical stabilizer skin structures play a critical role in damping effects designed for overcoming the air disturbances experienced by aircraft structural components during flight. The first-order fundamental frequencies and their corresponding damping characteristics of the vertical stabilizer skin structure tow-steered by automatic fiber placement technique were optimized with the parameterized trajectories and plies as design variables. Firstly, the vibration and damping numerical models were derived based on Kirchhoff laminate theory, the Rayleigh-Ritz method, and the Strain Energy Method. Then the optimization model was developed by adopting the self-adaptive Differential Evolution Multi-objective optimization algorithm and incorporating the solution method of Pareto Front. The constraints of this optimization model considered the experimentally obtained minimum turning radius of prepregs tow-steered in automatic fiber placement process obtained from experimental tests. Finally, the comparison of numerical simulation results was conducted for the optimized trajectories and the conventional straight trajectories under various boundary conditions, and the numerical results were partially validated through damping and frequency tests. The results indicate the vibration characteristics of the composite vertical stabilizer skin structure can be enhanced to a large extent by optimizing fiber trajectories, and the enhancement percentage is affected by the boundary conditions of the actual structure.