Investigation into optimised composite scarf repairs with practical constraints

This paper focuses on using a genetic algorithm to optimise composite scarf repairs subject to tensile loading by minimisng the normalised shear stress in the adhesive. Several parameters are modified to investigate their role in the effectiveness of the optimisation, including constraints to the optimised stacking sequence to increase the practicality of the design. These include enforcing a symmetric and stiffness-matched optimised layup to the parent structure. The studies show that additional constraints do reduce the effectiveness of the optimisation; but still provide adequate reduction in the maximum normalised adhesive shear stress.