Procedure for the multi-objective design and sustainability optimization of composite sandwich structures in aircraft cabin applications

In engineering, optimizing products across multiple performance metrics - such as cost, weight, and environmental sustainability - presents a significant challenge. Composite sandwich structures, in particular, offer a vast design space with diverse materials and geometric parameters, leading to conflicting design objectives. This study presents a procedure integrating Genetic Algorithms (GA), Finite Element Analysis (FEA), and rule-based performance metric calculations to address these challenges. GA facilitate efficient exploration of the design space, while via FEA mechanical performance is evaluated, and via rule-based calculations economic and ecological metrics are assessed. The procedure is applied to an aircraft partition-like sandwich structure, demonstrating its effectiveness in balancing trade-offs and achieving holistic design optimization. This approach provides valuable tools and insights for engineers and designers working with advanced composite materials, highlighting its potential to support sustainable development and informed decision-making in product design.