Adisa O. Akinbode^1,, Prof Anjali DeSilva¹

This study attempts to improve the use of composite materials in engineering applications through shape optimization by adopted finite element analysis (FEA) tools and regression models. SolidWorks was used to develop the geometries, ANSYS was used for the FEA, while MATLAB was used for the regression analysis. The equivalent stress, equivalent strain, and total deformation on the material for different shapes and configurations was studied. Circular shape and dog bone, both without holes were the shapes considered as initial or primary configuration. The optimal behavior predicted for the circular shape specimen suggest that staggered arrangement, 8 holes, 3 or 6 layers of plate combined, and circular holes will be the required combination for best performance. This deduction was made based on the prediction by the model selected for regression analysis. In the case of dog bone shape, no hole, single hole, and multiple holes were considered. It was observed that multiple (5) holes with 5 mm will significantly increase the equivalent stress and equivalent strain on the specimen, while no significant change was observed for the total deformation.

composites, shape optimization, finite element analysis, machine learning