Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization
S. R. M. Almedia, G.H. Paulino, and E. C. N. Silva
Escola de Engenharia Civil, Universidade
Federal de Goiás, Praça Universitária, s/n, Setor Universitário,
Goiânia, GO, 74605-220, Brasil
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Newmark Laboratory, MC-250, 205 North Mathews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801-2397, U.S.A.
Department of
Mechatronics and Mechanical Systems, Escola Politécnica da Universidade de São
Paulo, Av.
Professor Mello Moraes, 2231, São Paulo, SP, 05508-900, Brasil
Abstract
The ability to control both the minimum size of holes and the minimum size of structural members are essential requirements in the topology optimization design process for manufacturing. This paper addresses both requirements by means of a unified approach involving mesh-independent projection techniques. An inverse projection is developed to control the minimum hole size while a standard direct projection scheme is used to control the minimum length of structural members. In addition, a heuristic scheme combining both contrasting requirements simultaneously is discussed. Two topology optimization implementations are contributed: one in which the projection (either inverse or direct) is used at each iteration, and the other in which a two-phase scheme is explored. In the first phase, the compliance minimization is carried out without any projection until convergence. In the second phase, the chosen projection scheme is applied iteratively until a solution is obtained while satisfying either the minimum member size or minimum hole size. Examples demonstrate the various features of the projection-based techniques presented.
KEY WORDS: Topology optimization, projection functions, direct projection, inverse projection, combined projection, two-phase optimization