Concurrent topology optimization of cellular structures and anisotropic materials

Abstract

This paper presents a general formulation and solution method for the problem of two-scale concurrent topology optimization of cellular structure and its anisotropic materials. This formulation seeks simultaneous determination of the macro and micro structural topologies and the orientations of microstructures, such as a unit cell with anisotropic and inhomogeneous material properties. In the present formulation, the microstructure of cellular material is uniform in the entire macrostructure but with spatially-varying orientations. The solution method consists of two new features: (a) a mutual strain energy density-based approach proposed for analytically determining the orientations of fully anisotropic materials in compliant mechanism problems, which can also be modified to address minimum compliance designs and (b) an extended and fully-coupled moving iso-surface threshold (MIST) method and algorithm developed for solving the formulated concurrent optimization problem of cellular structures using two-scale physical response functions. The present formulation and algorithm are validated via studying numerical examples of concurrent optimum design of: (i) macro and micro topologies; (ii) macro topology and orthotropic material orientations; and (iii) macro and micro topologies and material orientations.