Constructal design method dealing with stiffened plates and symmetry boundaries

A new computational procedure for modelling the structural behavior of stiffened plates with symmetry boundary conditions is here presented. It uses two-dimensional finite elements as a way to decrease computational time without losing precision thanks to a relatively small number of elements applied for analyzing out-of-plane displacements (deflections) and stresses. Adding, the constructal design method was included in the procedure, together with the exhaustive search technique, with the scope to optimize the stress/strain status of stiffened plates by design changes. For the purpose, a reference plate without stiffeners was initially design and used as starting point. Part of the volume was reshaped into stiffeners: thickness was reduced maintaining unchanged weight, length and width. The main goal was to minimize strains and stresses by geometric changes. Results demonstrated that, thanks to this design procedure, it is always possible to find an adequate geometry transformation from reference plate into stiffeners, allowing significant improvements in mechanical behavior.