• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2006.04a
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• pp.299-306
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• 2006

Using a level set method and topological derivatives, a topological shape optimization method that is independent of an initial design is developed for linearly elastic structures. In the level set method, the initial domain is kept fixed and its boundary is represented by an implicit moving boundary embedded in the level set function, which facilitates to handle complicated topological shape changes. The 'Hamilton-Jacobi (H-J)' equation and computationally robust numerical technique of 'up-wind scheme' lead the initial implicit boundary to an optimal one according to the normal velocity field while minimizing the objective function of compliance and satisfying the constraint of allowable volume. Based on the asymptotic regularization concept, the topological derivative is considered as the limit of shape derivative as the radius of hole approaches to zero. The required velocity field to update the H -J equation is determined from the descent direction of Lagrangian derived from optimality conditions. It turns out that the initial holes is not required to get the optimal result since the developed method can create holes whenever and wherever necessary using indicators obtained from the topological derivatives. It is demonstrated that the proper choice of control parameters for nucleation is crucial for efficient optimization process.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.1389-1410
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• 2016

This paper proposes a hybrid of topological derivative-based level set method (LSM) and isogeometric analysis (IGA) for structural topology optimization. In topology optimization a significant drawback of the conventional LSM is that it cannot create new holes in the design domain. In this study, the topological derivative approach is used to create new holes in appropriate places of the design domain, and alleviate the strong dependency of the optimal topology on the initial design. Furthermore, the values of the gradient vector in Hamilton-Jacobi equation in the conventional LSM are replaced with a Delta function. In the topology optimization procedure IGA based on Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline (NURBS) functions is utilized to overcome the drawbacks in the conventional finite element method (FEM) based topology optimization approaches. Several numerical examples are provided to confirm the computational efficiency and robustness of the proposed method in comparison with derivative-based LSM and FEM.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2008.04a
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• pp.391-396
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• 2008

A level set based topological shape optimization using extended B-spline basis functions is developed for steady state heat conduction problems. The only inside of complicated domain is identified by the level set functions and taken into account in computation. The solution of Hamilton-Jacobi equation leads to an optimal shape according to the normal velocity field determined from the sensitivity analysis, minimizing a thermal compliance while satisfying a volume constraint. To obtain exact shape sensitivity, the precise normal and curvature of geometry need to be determined using the level set and B-spline basis functions. The nucleation of holes is possible whenever and wherever necessary during the optimization using a topological derivative concept.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.37 no.5
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• pp.475-487
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• 2011

In a flexible multi-body dynamic system the typical topological optimization method for structures cannot be directly applied, as the stiffness varies with position. In this paper, the topological optimization of the flexible multi-body dynamic system is converted into structural optimization using the equivalent static load method. First, the actual boundary conditions of the control system and the approximate stiffness curve of the mechanism are obtained from a flexible multi-body dynamical simulation. Second, the finite element models are built using the absolute nodal coordination for different positions according to the stiffness curve. For efficiency, the static reanalysis method is utilized to solve these finite element equilibrium equations. Specifically, the finite element equilibrium equations of key points in the stiffness curve are fully solved as the initial solution, and the following equilibrium equations are solved using a reanalysis method with an error controlled epsilon algorithm. In order to identify the efficiency of the elements, a non-dimensional measurement is introduced. Finally, an improved evolutional structural optimization (ESO) method is used to solve the optimization problem. The presented method is applied to the optimal design of a die bonder. The numerical results show that the presented method is practical and efficient when optimizing the design of the mechanism.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.141-156
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• 2016

The search for new structural systems capable of associating performance and safety requires deeper knowledge regarding the mechanical behavior of structures subject to different loading conditions. The Strut-and-Tie Model is commonly used to structurally designing some reinforced concrete elements and for the regions where geometrical modifications and stress concentrations are observed, called "regions D". This method allows a better structural behavior representation for strength mechanisms in the concrete structures. Nonetheless, the topological model choice depends on the designer's experience regarding compatibility between internal flux of loads, geometry and boundary/initial conditions. Thus, there is some difficulty in its applications, once the model conception presents some uncertainty. In this context, the present work aims to apply the Strut-and-Tie Model to nonlinear structural elements together with a topological optimization method. The topological optimization method adopted considers the progressive stiffness reduction of finite elements with low stress values. The analyses performed could help the structural designer to better understand structural conceptions, guaranteeing the safety and the reliability in the solution of complex problems involving structural concrete.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.79-87
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• 2013

An isogeometric topological shape optimization method is developed using the level sets and Heaviside enrichments. In the level set method, the initial domain is kept fixed and its boundary is represented by an implicit moving boundary embedded in the level set functions, which facilitates to handle complicated topological shape changes. The Heaviside enrichment improves the isogeometric analysis by adding some enrichment functions to model the internal boundaries. The proposed topological shape optimization method has several benefits: exact geometric models can be obtained using the isogeometric approach and the limitation of tensor-product patches can be overcome using the Heaviside enrichments to represent the internal voids. Even in a single patch, discontinuous displacement fields as well as smooth stress field can be obtained. Since the level sets offer the implicit moving boundary inside the domain, it is easy to represent the topological shape variations in the isogeometric analysis using Heaviside enrichments.

• Journal of the Korean Mathematical Society
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• v.57 no.5
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• pp.1079-1101
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• 2020

This work is concerned with a geometric inverse problem in fluid mechanics. The aim is to reconstruct an unknown obstacle immersed in a Newtonian and incompressible fluid flow from internal data. We assume that the fluid motion is governed by the Stokes-Brinkmann equations in the two dimensional case. We propose a simple and efficient reconstruction method based on the topological sensitivity concept. The geometric inverse problem is reformulated as a topology optimization one minimizing a least-square functional. The existence and stability of the optimization problem solution are discussed. A topological sensitivity analysis is derived with the help of a straightforward approach based on a penalization technique without using the classical truncation method. The theoretical results are exploited for building a non-iterative reconstruction algorithm. The unknown obstacle is reconstructed using a levelset curve of the topological gradient. The accuracy and the robustness of the proposed method are justified by some numerical examples.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.239-245
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• 2008

A level set based topological shape optimization using extended B-spline basis functions is developed for steady-state heat conduction problems. The only inside of complicated domain identified by the level set functions is taken into account in computation, so we can remove the effects of domain outside parts in heat conduction problem. The solution of Hamilton-Jacobi equation leads to an optimal shape according to the normal velocity field determined from the sensitivity analysis, minimizing a thermal compliance while satisfying a volume constraint. To obtain exact shape sensitivity, the precise normal and curvature of geometry need to be determined using the level set and B-spline basis functions. Using topological derivative concept, the nucleation of holes for topological changes can be made whenever and wherever necessary during the optimization.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.58 no.10
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• pp.1936-1941
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• 2009

This paper deals with a new methodology for topology optimization in which the topology of the design domain may change during the shape optimization process. To achieve this, the concept of the topological gradient is introduced to compute the sensitivity of an objective function when a small hole is drilled in the domain. Based on shape and topological sensitivity values, the shape and topology of the design domain may be simultaneously changed during design iterations if necessary. To verify the advantages and also to facilitate understanding of the method itself, two electrostatic design problems have been tested by using 2D finite element analysis: the first is the inverse problem of a simple dielectric model and the second is the rotor design of a MEMS actuator.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.559-567
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• 2012

A level set based topological shape optimization method for nonlinear structure considering hyper-elastic problems is developed. To relieve significant convergence difficulty in topology optimization of nonlinear structure due to inaccurate tangent stiffness which comes from material penalization of whole domain, explicit boundary for exact tangent stiffness is used by taking advantage of level set function for arbitrary boundary shape. For given arbitrary boundary which is represented by level set function, a Delaunay triangulation scheme is used for current structure discretization instead of using implicit fixed grid. The required velocity field in the actual domain to update the level set equation is determined from the descent direction of Lagrangian derived from optimality conditions. The velocity field outside the actual domain is determined through a velocity extension scheme based on the method suggested by Adalsteinsson and Sethian(1999). The topological derivatives are incorporated into the level set based framework to enable to create holes whenever and wherever necessary during the optimization.