Multi-objective optimization for free vibration of L-shaped bi-functionally graded sandwich plates using an effective finite element method and non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II

Free vibration analysis and multi-objective optimization for L-shaped bi-functionally graded sandwich (L-BFGSW) plates are studied in this work. The L-BFGSW plates are made of three layers including a ceramic core and two face-sheet layers made of two different functionally graded materials (FGMs). For free vibration analysis, an effective C1 finite element formulation based on Shi's third-order shear deformation plate theory (TSDT) is proposed. For solving the multi-objective optimization, the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II) is utilized to execute the optimization-solving process to acquire Pareto-optimum solutions. These results demonstrate a clear solution for solving the trade-off relationship between the maximum of the first frequency and the minimum of the structural weight. © 2023