Ant Colony Optimization for dispersed laminated composite panels under biaxial loading

► The Ant Colony algorithm is implemented to optimize the stacking sequence of composite panels under biaxial loading. ► The optimum solutions of three different failure criteria are compared. ► The critical buckling load is maximized with strength constraints. ► The LaRC03 failure indices are minimized with strength constraints. The current study aims to show the benefits of dispersed laminates (laminates in which the orientation angles are not limited to the conventional, 0°, ±45° and 90°, orientations) over conventional ones, in terms of stiffness, buckling resistance and strength, in structural applications. The Ant Colony Optimization algorithm is used with strength constraints to find the best candidate to achieve this goal. A study is conducted to select the most suitable failure criterion among three common ones. The methodology is used for two loading cases: biaxial compression and biaxial tension. In the case of biaxial compression, the problem is formulated to maximize the critical buckling load whereas with the biaxial tension, the formulation is to minimize the failure index. For both loading cases, the methodology succeeds in improving the response of dispersed laminates with respect to the conventional ones. These results support the movement of the composite industry toward using dispersed laminates.