Manufacturing considerations have been incorporated into the design optimization
of a blade-stiffened composite panel. For the manufacturing analysis, a one-dimensional
resin film infusion model is developed to compute the infiltration time of the resin into a
fabric preform of the panel. Results are presented showing the effects of structurally
important design variables, such as cross-sectional geometry and material properties, on
the manufacturing performance of the panel. In addition, the effects of manufacturing
process variables, such as pressure and temperature, on the structural performance are
studied. The structural problem is formulated to minimize the panel mass subject to
buckling constraints. A simplified buckling analysis model for the panel is used to
compute the critical buckling loads. The objective of the manufacturing problem is to
minimize the resin infiltration time. Optimum panel designs for the manufacturing and
structures problems alone, as well as for the combined problem, are generated using a
genetic algorithm. These results indicate a strong connection between the structures and
manufacturing design variables and trade-offs between the responses, illustrating that a
multidisciplinary approach to the problem is essential to incorporating manufacturing into
the preliminary design stage.
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