A Novel Methodology for Robust Topology Optimization Considering Manufacturing Errors and Topology Deviations

Abstract

In topology optimization (TO), the finally manufactured topology will inherently deviate from the optimized one due to both curved lines or smoothed surfaces being used in the real-world topology and the manufacture error (ME). Generally, such deviation or tolerance is called an uncertainty in the topology. However, the deviation of the built topology from the optimized one may result in degradation of the performance of the optimized solution for microscale magnetic devices. Therefore, robust optimization (RO) considering ME and topology deviations (TDs) has become a hot concern in TO problems. Consequently, it is demanding to develop feasible and efficient procedures for TOs considering MEs and TDs. In this respect, a novel methodology based on the min-cut theorem and Bezier curve (MCBC) is first proposed. Based on the min-cut-based methodology for deterministic TOs, the Bezier curve is proposed to generate interface distortion realistically. The numerical result on the TO of a magnetic actuator has demonstrated that the proposed methodology has a good ability to obtain optimized topology insensitive to MEs and TDs.