Abstract
This paper presents the evaluation method of approximate equivalent stiffnesses for structural optimization of double-skin hollowed plates. For this purpose, the equivalent stiffnesses of the plate are given first in the second-order polynomial form with respect to design parameters by using the Response Surface Method (RSM). Finite element analysis for bending problem is formulated by using the ACM rectangular element, and then FEA program is developed by incorporating the equivalent stiffnesses estimated by RSM. Finally the numerical results by the present FEA are compared with the ones by a commercial FEA code, ANSYS, and the applicability of the approximate equivalent stiffnesses and the present FEA are studied.
