Constrained adaptive topology optimization for vibrating shell structures

Abstract

This paper describes an algorithm for structural topology optimization entitled Constrained Adaptive Topology Optimization or CATO which is applied here to produce the optimum design of shell structures under free vibration conditions. The algorithm, based on an artificial material model and an updating scheme, combines ideas from the more mathematically rigorous homogenization (h) methods and the more intuitive evolutionary (e) methods. Thus, CATO can be seen as a hybrid h/e method. The optimization problem is defined as maximizing or minimizing a chosen frequency with a constraint on the structural volume/mass by redistributing the material through the structure. The efficiency of the proposed algorithm is illustrated through several numerical examples.