Performance-Based Analysis of Mesh Smoothing Methods Combining Topology Optimization and Additive Manufacturing

Abstract

Most design-to-manufacturing frameworks combining topology optimization (TO) and additive manufacturing (AM) integrate mesh smoothing methods as post-processing techniques to remove discrete irregularities of optimized topologies. Notably, a design framework is proposed incorporating all the CAD development stages within the design phase providing smooth and ready-to-print topologies. The Laplacian-based smoothing algorithms have demonstrated a high capacity in removing surface noise. This study focuses on investigating the smoothing capacity of both HC Laplacian and Taubin methods using mesh quality metrics to assess on their performance in terms of geometric preservation and volume shrinkage. Taubin method was found to produce high-quality smooth meshes with less volume shrinkage compared to HC Laplacian. The Taubin model exhibited an increase of 15.06% in mesh volume whereas the HC Laplacian model had a volume shrinkage of 28.14%. Additionally, finite element analyses of the three-point bending test using ANSYS is set to measure the flexural stiffness of an optimized MBB beam under both HC Laplacian and Taubin smoothing methods. Overall, the flexural stiffness of Taubin is nearly two times the original model with a surplus of 46.91% whereas HC Laplacian exhibited a flexural stiffness that is less with 72.07% than the original model.