This study aims to develop efficient composite laminates for buckling load enhancement, interlaminar shear stress minimization, and weight reduction. This goal is achieved through cover-skin lay-ups around skins and stiffeners, which amplify bending stiffness and defer delamination by means of effective stress distribution. The design problem is formulated as multi-objective optimization that maximizes buckling load capability while minimizing both maximum out-of-plane shear stress and panel weight. For efficient optimization, response surface methodology is employed for buckling load, two out-of-plane shear stresses, and panel weight with respect to one ply thickness, six fiber orientations of a skin, and four stiffener heights. Numerical results show that skin-covered composite stiffened panels can be devised for maximum buckling load and minimum interlaminar shear stresses under compressive load. In addition, the effects of different material properties are investigated and compared. The obtained results reveal that the composite stiffened panel with Kevlar material is the most effective design.

Keywords: Multi-objective optimization, Response surface methodology, Buckling load, Out-of-plane shear stress