An explicit structural topology optimization method based on the descriptions of areas

Abstract

Traditional topology optimization frameworks are mostly implicit, and it is often difficult to accurately describe their final optimization results. The traditional topology optimization involves many design variables, which largely increase the computational cost. In the study, based on the descriptions of areas, an explicit topology optimization method utilizing moving morphable components (MMCs) is proposed. The topological description function (TDF) is constructed with the descriptions of areas to describe the geometry of components. The proposed method has an intuitive geometric modeling capability, and its basic idea is an inspiration for the shape optimization in structural design. Based on this topology optimization framework, an extended form of the multi-section component is proposed to provide a new way to improve the deformation ability of the component. Finally, the proposed method is verified by some numerical examples.