A mixed numerical-experimental methodology for determining the elastic constants of orthotropic materials

The present paper describes a hybrid method which combines finite element analyses and genetic algorithms (GAs) for determining the elastic properties of isotropic and anisotropic materials from the fall-field measurement of the displacements of plates under flexural loads. An optimized procedure based on GAs updates iteratively the elastic constants in a numerical model until the displacements obtained by numerical analysis fit the experimental data. The unknown parameters are identified simultaneously by a single test and without damaging the structure. The procedure was applied to both isotropic (aluminum) and anisotropic (Graphite/PEEK unidirectional laminate) specimens.