• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.76 no.4
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• pp.529-540
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• 2020

Concurrent topology optimization of macrostructure and microstructure has attracted significant interest due to its high structural performance. However, most of the existing works are carried out under deterministic conditions, the obtained design may be vulnerable or even cause catastrophic failure when the load position exists uncertainty. Therefore, it is necessary to take load position uncertainty into consideration in structural design. This paper presents a computational method for robust concurrent topology optimization with consideration of load position uncertainty. The weighted sum of the mean and standard deviation of the structural compliance is defined as the objective function with constraints are imposed to both macro- and micro-scale structure volume fractions. The Bivariate Dimension Reduction method and Gauss-type quadrature (BDRGQ) are used to quantify and propagate load uncertainty to calculate the objective function. The effective properties of microstructure are evaluated by the numerical homogenization method. To release the computation burden, the decoupled sensitivity analysis method is proposed for microscale design variables. The bi-directional evolutionary structural optimization (BESO) method is used to obtain the black-and-white designs. Several 2D and 3D examples are presented to validate the effectiveness of the proposed robust concurrent topology optimization method.

• Korean Journal of Computational Design and Engineering
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.281-289
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• 2009

Topology optimization has been widely used for the optimal structure design for weight reduction and high performance. Since the result of three-dimensional topology optimization is represented by the discrete material distribution in finite elements, it is hard to interpret from a design point of view. In this paper, the method for interpreting three-dimensional topology optimization resuIt into a series of cross-sectional curve representation is proposed and interfaced with the existing CAD system for the practical use. The concept of node density and virtual grid is introduced to transform element density values into grid density and material boundaries in each cross section are identified based on the element volume rate to satisfy the amount of material specified in the original design intent. Design exampIes show that three-dimensional topology result can be converted into a form of curve CAD model and the seamless interface with CAD software can be achieved.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.36 no.7
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• pp.745-750
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• 2012

This study extends the constraint force design method allowing topology optimization for planar rigid-link and string mechanisms. To our best knowledge, by applying conventional machine and mechanism design theories, it is likely that it is possible to find out optimal locations of joints and lengths of rigid-links but somewhat difficult to find out optimal topology of rigid-links. To achieve optimal topology of rigid links, there is our previous contribution so called the new constraint force design method with the binary design variables determining the existence of the auxiliary forces imposing apparent lengths among unit masses. By adding new binary design variables, this research extends the constraint force design method to find out optimal mechanism consisting of stringy links as well as rigid links that seems impossible in the conventional machine and mechanism design theories.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.241-259
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• 2013

This paper presents the optimum load-speed diagram evaluation for a linear micromotor, including multitude cantilever piezoelectric bimorphs, briefly. Each microbeam in the mechanism can be actuated in both axial and flexural modes simultaneously. For this design, we consider quasi-static and linear conditions, and a relatively new numerical method called the smoothed finite element method (S-FEM) is introduced here. For this purpose, after finding an optimum volume fraction for piezoelectric layers through a standard numerical method such as quadratic finite element method, the relevant load-speed curves of the optimized micromotor are examined and compared by deterministic topology optimization (DTO) design. In this regard, to avoid the overly stiff behavior in FEM modeling, a numerical method known as the cell-based smoothed finite element method (CS-FEM, as a branch of S-FEM) is applied for our DTO problem. The topology optimization procedure to find the optimal design is implemented using a solid isotropic material with a penalization (SIMP) approximation and a method of moving asymptotes (MMA) optimizer. Because of the higher efficiency and accuracy of S-FEMs with respect to standard FEMs, the main micromotor characteristics of our final DTO design using a softer CS-FEM are substantially improved.

• Journal of Computational Design and Engineering
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.161-177
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• 2016

In history based parametric CAD modeling systems, persistent identification of the topological entities after design modification is mandatory to keep the design intent by recording model creation history and modification history. Persistent identification of geometric and topological entities is necessary in the product design phase as well as in the re-evaluation stage. For the identification, entities should be named first according to the methodology which will be applicable for all the entities unconditionally. After successive feature operations on a part body, topology based persistent identification mechanism generates ambiguity problem that usually stems from topology splitting and topology merging. Solving the ambiguity problem needs a complex method which is a combination of topology and geometry. Topology is used to assign the basic name to the entities. And geometry is used for the ambiguity solving between the entities. In the macro parametrics approach of iCAD lab of KAIST a topology based persistent identification mechanism is applied which will solve the ambiguity problem arising from topology splitting and also in case of topology merging. Here, a method is proposed where no geometry comparison is necessary for topology merging. The present research is focused on the enhancement of the persistent identification schema for the support of ambiguity problem especially of topology splitting problem and topology merging problem. It also focused on basic naming of pattern features.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society for Noise and Vibration Engineering Conference
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• 2000.06a
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• pp.479-484
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• 2000

The topology optimization of electromagnetic systems is investigated and the TOPEM (Topology Optimization for Electromagnetic Systems) is developed using the finite element method (FEM). The design sensitivity equation for topology optimization is derived using the adjoint variable method. The proposed method is validated by applying it to the topology optimizations of a C-core actuator and an optical pickup actuator.

• Journal of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute of Korea
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.259-265
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• 2009

This paper studies the Element Connectivity Parameterization Method(ECP method) for topology optimization considering dynamic compliance. The previous element density based topology optimization method interpolates Young's modulus with respect to design variables defined in each element for topology optimization. Despite its various applications, these element density based methods suffer from numerical instabilities for nonlinear structure and multiphysics systems. To resolve these instabilities, recently a new numerical method called the Element Connectivity Parameterization(ECP) Method was proposed. Unlike the existing design methods, the ECP method optimizes the connectivities among plane or solid elements and it shows some advantages in topology optimization for both nonlinear structure and multiphysics systems. In this study, the method was expanded for topology optimization for the dynamic compliance by developing a way to model the mass matrix in the framework of the ECP method.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.39-66
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• 2014

This study deals with the design of bridge girder structures and consists of two parts. In the first part an optimal bridge girder topology is determined using a software based on structure compliance minimization with constraints imposed on the body mass, developed by the authors. In the second part, an original way in which the topology is mapped into a bridge girder structure is shown. Additionally, a method of converting the thickness of the bars obtained using the topology optimization procedure into cross sections is introduced. Moreover, stresses and material consumption for a girder design obtained through topology optimization and a typical truss girder are compared. Concluding, this paper shows that topology optimization is a good tool for obtaining optimal bridge girder designs.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2008.11a
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• pp.412-417
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• 2008

In a traditional topology optimization method, material properties are usually distributed by finite element density and visualized by a gray level image. The distribution method based on element density is adequate for a great mass of 2-D topology optimization problems. However, when it is used for 3-D topology optimization, it is always difficult to obtain a smooth model representation, and easily appears a virtualconnect phenomenon especially in a low-density domain. The 3-D structural topology optimization method has been developed using the node density instead of the element density that is based on SIMP (solid isotropic microstructure with penalization) algorithm. A computer code based on Matlab was written to validate the proposed method. When it was compared to the element density as design variable, this method could get a more uniform density distribution. To show the usefulness of this method, several typical examples of structure topology optimization are presented.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.59-66
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• 2010

This study presents the topology optimization technique by density method to determine the initial shape of space truss structures. Most initial shape design is performed by designer's previous experiences and trial and error method instead of the application of reasonable optimization method. Thus, the reasonable and economical optimization methods are needed to be introduced for the initial shape design. Therefore, we set design domain for cantilever space truss structure as an example model. And topology optimization is used to obtain optimum layout for them, and then size optimization method is used to find the optimum member size. Therefore, the reasonable initial optimal shapes of spatial truss structures can be obtained through the topology and size optimization using density method.