AN OVERVIEW ON TOPOLOGY OPTIMIZATION METHODS EMPLOYED IN STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING

Abstract

Any mechanical performance measure of a structure is strongly related with its topology. Size and shape optimization cannot give the best structural performance, since these methods cannot change the structure’s topology. Hence, topology optimization should be employed to obtain the best performance. In this paper, a review of topology optimization is provided. At first, the general topology optimization problem is defined. Then, modern topology optimization methods are presented and discussed.