Reliability-Based Topology Optimization with a Proportional Topology for Reliability

Abstract

This research proposes an efficient technique for reliability-based topology optimization (RBTO), which deals with uncertainty and employs proportional topology optimization (PTO) to achieve the optimal reliability structure. The recent technique, called proportional topology optimization for reliability (PTOr), uses Latin hypercube sampling (LHS) for uncertainty quantification. The difficulty of the double-loop nested problem in uncertainty quantification (UQ) with LHS can be alleviated by the power of PTO, enabling RBTO to be performed easily. The rigorous advantage of PTOr is its ability to accomplish topology optimization (TO) without gradient information, making it faster than TO with evolutionary algorithms. Particularly, for reliability-based topology design, evolutionary techniques often fail to achieve satisfactory results compared to gradient-based techniques. Unlike recent PTOr advancement, which enhances the RBTO performance, this achievement was previously unattainable. Test problems, including an aircraft pylon, reveal its performances. Furthermore, the proposed efficient framework facilitates easy integration with other uncertainty quantification techniques, increasing its performance in uncertainty quantification. Lastly, this research provides computer programs for the newcomer studying cutting-edge knowledge in engineering design, including UQ, TO, and RBTO, in a simple manner.