Topology optimization of 2.5D parts using the SIMP method with a variable thickness approach

Abstract

In this study, the Solid Isotropic Material with Penalization (SIMP) topology optimization method is employed on the artifacts via keeping the penalization factor as unity. When the penalization is not carried out, the finite elements of the artifact have intermediate material densities. These density values are then used as the thicknesses of the corresponding finite elements and conformal surfaces are formed utilizing these heights in the proposed method. We evaluated the performance of the method with the conventional SIMP method, having penalization factors larger than one, in terms of numerical analysis and experiments. The results revealed that the proposed approach outperforms the classical SIMP method.