Sulfur polymer concrete (SPC) is relatively new material used to replace Portland cement for making drain pipes currently being manufactured by horizontal spun technology which produces non-homogenous material distribution and low strength pipes. Due to drawbacks of existing machine, there is a necessity to design molding machine with improved technology for assuring homogenous compaction of material. In this research, a new machine is designed where inner rotating core is the main component for mixing, compressing and giving final shape of product. So, it is necessary to optimize this part in terms of topology to ensure robust functionality.
First, the concept of a new molding machine was designed through problem exploration, idea generation, concept evaluation, and design improvement. The alternative was generated in consideration of customer requirements by applying TRIZ principles to overcome drawback of existing machine. One of the concepts was selected using scoring techniques where concepts are presented and compared with varieties of evaluating criteria. Topology optimization with density method has applied to design inner rotating core part for mass reduction and thereby optimum utilization of design space. Suitable engineering model was built based on loads, boundary condition and constraints. Loads are applied on inner core walls during mixing and compressing of sulfur concrete. Objective is focused to minimize the developed topology by maximizing stiffness. Repeated structural analysis is done to obtain the convergence data for optimal design. Optimized finite element topology is generated as CAD model for size optimization. The optimization study provided response charts of different design variables. Sensitivity analysis of the input variables helped in identifying the importance of each design variable and their respective effects on the output model. Different design points are rated on optimization study and best design points are chosen for the final dimension of structure. CATIA, OptiStruct and ANSYS are tools used for concept design, optimization of topology. To the end optimal topology is compared with the initial designed part in terms of weight and displacement. It is concluded that topology optimized model maximizes overall stiffness resulting in better and innovative product design with enhanced performance.
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