Acceleration of Genetic Algorithms for the Design of Random Micro-Heterogeneous Materials

F.BURONI; H.M.GOMES; A.P.CISILINO

Ouro Preto, Brasil

Congreso; International Congress of Mechanical Engineering COBEM 2005; 2005

Asociación Brasileña de Ciencias Mecánicas

A key of success of many modern structural components is the tailored behavior of the material. A relatively inexpensive way to obtain macroscopically desired responses is to enhance the base matrix properties by the addition of microscopic matter (particles), i.e. to manipulate the microstructure. It is presented in this work a general procedure for the design of random micro-heterogeneous materials in order to deliver a specified linearly elastic response. The devised procedure makes use of genetic algorithm (GA) with approximate fitness evaluation. The design variables are the Young modulus and the Poisson ratio of the particles and the particle volume fraction. When compared with standard GA’s, the proposed algorithm results in important savings in computing time with only minor losses in accuracy.