Doing Topology Optimization Explicitly and Geometrically—A New Moving Morphable Components Based Framework

TLDR

The study aims to demonstrate how to perform topology optimization explicitly and geometrically. The authors propose a new computational framework based on moving morphable components for structural topology optimization. The moving morphable component framework incorporates richer geometry and mechanical information, provides greater flexibility, substantially reduces computational burden, and is validated by representative examples.

Abstract

In the present work, we intend to demonstrate how to do topology optimization in an explicit and geometrical way. To this end, a new computational framework for structural topology optimization based on the concept of moving morphable components is proposed. Compared with the traditional pixel or node point-based solution framework, the proposed solution paradigm can incorporate more geometry and mechanical information into topology optimization directly and therefore render the solution process more flexibility. It also has the great potential to reduce the computational burden associated with topology optimization substantially. Some representative examples are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.