Design Optimization of Thin-Walled Composite Structures

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue, entitled “Design Optimization of Thin-Walled Composite Structures”. As composite materials continue to reshape the landscape of advanced engineering systems, thin-walled configurations have emerged as a key enabler for high-performance structural design. Their tunable anisotropy offers unprecedented potential for structural tailoring, weight-efficient load paths, enhanced durability, and multifunctional integration. However, realizing these benefits demands rigorous optimization strategies capable of addressing manufacturing constraints, multi-scale behavior, and coupled structural–aerodynamic effects.

Thin-walled composite structures are increasingly employed across engineering sectors due to their high specific strength and stiffness, geometric efficiency, and tunable anisotropic properties. They are found in diverse load-bearing and functional components, including panels, beams, shells, stiffened skins, energy-absorbing members, transportation frames, pressure vessels, turbine and fan blades, and emerging lightweight systems in automotive, marine, renewable energy, and aerospace platforms. Their mechanical and multifunctional capabilities enable solutions to challenges involving structural stability, dynamic response, weight reduction, impact and damage tolerance, stress concentration mitigation, thermal and environmental resistance, and extended service life, while simultaneously introducing complex design, manufacturing, and certification constraints.

This Special Issue aims to collate novel methodologies, emerging computational frameworks, experimental validation efforts, and application-driven studies that push the boundaries of design and optimization for thin-walled composite systems.

For this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome to be submitted. Research areas may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Optimization across sizing, shape, topology, laminate/ply-angle, and stacking sequence;
• Stability, buckling, vibration, aeroelastic tailoring, and load-alleviation strategies;
• Multi-fidelity/multi-scale methods, ROMs, and ML/surrogate-based optimization;
• Robust/reliability-based design and uncertainty quantification (materials, loads, defects);
• Coupled computational approaches with experimental validation;
• Digital twins, structural health monitoring (SHM), open benchmarks/datasets, and reproducible workflows;
• Applications to aerospace, automotive, maritime, energy, infrastructure, and other lightweight structural domains. 

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Touraj Farsadi
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Composites Science is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.