Evaluation and comparison of geometry representation methods for structural topology optimization

Abstract

This chapter presents a paper, the aim of which is to perform the evaluation and comparison of the bit-array method and the morphological representation method based on solving a target matching problem. Structural topology optimization is one of the subset approaches of structural optimization, which aims at finding the best possible structure that meets various multidisciplinary requirements of functionality and manufacturing. It is mainly concerned with optimal modifications of holes and connectivities of the structural design domain by redistributing material in an iterative and systematic manner to arrive at an optimal structural topology. Structural topology optimization is economically the most rewarding task in structural design. In the field of structural topology optimization, the homogenization method and the evolutionary structural optimization method (ESO) have received wide exposure. Structural topology optimization using Genetic Algorithm (GAs) has not been widely adopted because of its high computational cost. GAs can be more attractive to the design engineers because of its potential to perform the global search in the design domain together with a family of topologies exhibiting approximately the same high structural performance.