Topology optimization driven by anisotropic mesh adaptation: Towards a free-form design. (1st April 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Micheletti, Stefano; Perotto, Simona; Soli, Luca
• Is Part Of: Computers & structures. Volume 214(2019)
• Page Start: 60
• Page End: 72
• Publication Date: 2019-04-01
• Subjects: Topology optimization -- Anisotropic adapted meshes -- Recovery-based error estimators -- Free-form design; Structural engineering -- Data processing -- Periodicals; Electronic data processing -- Structures, Theory of -- Periodicals; 624.171
• DOI: 10.1016/j.compstruc.2019.01.005
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0045-7949

Abstract

Abstract: We propose the new adaptive algorithm SIMPATY for topology optimization to design lightweight and stiff structures exhibiting free-form features. This is achieved by properly combining the classical SIMP method with an anisotropic mesh adaptation strategy based on a recovery-based a posteriori error estimator. Mesh adaptivity allows us to contain (and, for simple structures, even to eliminate) the filtering usually adopted in a topology optimization context. Thus, the final layout is intrinsically smooth, so that the post-processing phase can be strongly reduced (or even skipped), and the structure can directly move on to the production manufacturing phase. A free-form design is also enhanced by anisotropic mesh adaptivity. An extensive numerical validation supports these remarkable properties.