Topology Optimization of Fail-Safe Structures via Geometry Projection

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hollis A. Smith ◽  
Julian A. Norato
2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (5) ◽  
pp. 1173-1190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanglong Zhang ◽  
Julián A. Norato ◽  
Arun L. Gain ◽  
Naesung Lyu

Author(s):  
Hollis Smith ◽  
Julian Norato

Abstract This work introduces a topology optimization method for the design of structures composed of rectangular plates each of which is made of a predetermined anisotropic material. This work builds upon the geometry projection method with two notable additions. First, a novel geometric parameterization of plates represented by offset surfaces is formulated that is simpler than the one used in previous works. Second, the formulation presented herein adds support to the geometry projection method for geometric components with general anisotropic material properties. A design-generation framework is formulated that produces optimal designs composed exclusively of rectangular plates that may be made of a predetermined, generally anisotropic material. The efficacy of the proposed method is demonstrated with a numerical example comparing optimal cantilever beam designs obtained using isotropic- and orthotropic-material plates. For this example, we maximize the stiffness of the structure for a fixed amount of material. The example reveals the importance of considering material anisotropy in the design of plate structures. Moreover, it is demonstrated that an optimally stiff design for plates made of an isotropic material can exhibit detrimental performance if the plates are naively replaced with an anisotropic material. Although the example given in this work is in the context of orthotropic plates, since the formulation presented in this work supports arbitrary anisotropic materials, it may be readily extended to support the design of each component’s material anisotropy as a part of the optimization routine.


Author(s):  
Yoshitsugu Otomo ◽  
Hajime Igarashi

Purpose The purpose of this study is to search for an optimal core shape that is robust against misalignment between the transmitting and receiving coils of the wireless power transfer (WPT) device. During the optimization process, the authors maximize the coupling coefficients while minimizing the leakage flux around the coils to ensure the safety of the WPT device. Design/methodology/approach In this study, a novel topology optimization method for WPT devices using the geometry projection method is proposed to optimize the magnetic core shape. This method facilitates the generation of bar-shaped magnetic cores because the material distribution is represented by a set of elementary bars. Findings It is shown that an optimized core shape, which is obtained through topology optimization, effectively increases the net magnetic flux interlinked with the receiving coil and outperforms the conventional core. Originality/value In the previous topology optimization method, the material distribution is represented by a linear combination of Gaussian functions. However, this method does not usually result in bar-shaped cores, which are widely used in WPT. In this study, the authors propose a novel topology optimization method for WPT devices using geometry projection that is used in structural optimization, such as beam and cantilever shapes.


Author(s):  
Micah Kranz ◽  
Julian K. Lüdeker ◽  
Benedikt Kriegesmann

AbstractExplicitly considering fail-safety within design optimization is computationally very expensive, since every possible failure has to be considered. This requires solving one finite element model per failure and iteration. In topology optimization, one cannot identify potentially failing structural members at the beginning of the optimization. Hence, a generic failure shape is applied to every possible location inside the design domain. In the current paper, the maximum stress is considered as optimization objective to be minimized, since failure is typically driven by the occurring stresses and thus of more practical relevance than the compliance. Due to the local nature of stresses, it is presumed that the optimization is more sensitive to the choice of the failure shape than compliance-based optimization. Therefore, various failure shapes, sizes and different numbers of failure cases are investigated and compared on the basis of a general load-path-based evaluation scheme. Instead of explicitly considering fail-safety, redundant structures are obtained at much less computational cost by controlling the maximum length scale. A common and easy to implement maximum length scale approach is employed and fail-safe properties are determined and compared against the explicit fail-safe approach.


2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (5) ◽  
pp. 1225-1243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ming Zhou ◽  
Raphael Fleury

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
HOLLIS A. SMITH, ◽  
JULIÁN A. NORATO

This work presents a topology optimization method for the design of structures composed exclusively of rectangular plates made of a predetermined, generally anisotropic material. The geometry projection method is employed to map the highlevel geometry and material properties to a fixed grid for the analysis, thus circumventing the need to re-mesh upon each design iteration. We also impose an overlap constraint in the optimization that reduces waste material when fabricating structures by cutting and joining rectangular plates. We demonstrate our method with a numerical example comparing optimal cantilever beam designs obtained using isotropic- and orthotropic-material plates. For this example, we maximize the stiffness of the structure for a fixed amount of material, and we impose a constraint to reduce overlaps between plates. The examples demonstrate the importance of considering material anisotropy in the design of plate structures. Moreover, it is demonstrated that an optimally stiff design for plates made of an isotropic material can exhibit poor performance if the plates are naively replaced with an anisotropic material.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document