Review on Structure Design and Uncertainty Analysis of Variables Stiffness Composites

Variables stiffness (VS) composite is a kind of high performance composite and offering a greater potential in performance improvement than the traditional straight-line fiber reinforced composite. However, design and manufacture of the VS composite also becomes more complex. High-performance optimization algorithms are needed to fully explore the potential of the VS composite. Restricted to the manufacturing capability, defects are inevitable and would deteriorate the performance, reliability and stability of the VS composite or ever fail the relative system somehow. Therefore, it is of great necessity to conduct uncertainty analysis on VS composite. The State-of-the-Art review on the optimized design and uncertainty analysis of VS composite in the past decades are provided. Moreover, several suggestions are included according to the latest development.