Constrained shape optimization of free-form shells considering material creep

Abstract

Shape optimization is an effective tool for designing free-form structures for a variety of design objectives. Aiming at long-term structural performance, a computational framework is presented for performing shape optimization of free-form shells while considering material creep. The material creep model is incorporated into a gradient-based optimization algorithm using a viscoelastic finite element model. Non-uniform rational B-spline (NURBS) is employed to parameterize the free-form geometric shapes of shells. Optimization is conducted for minimizing the shell volume subject to constraints of specified maximum displacement. The results demonstrate that it is necessary to consider creep when designing shells made of viscoelastic materials for long-term performance.

KEYWORDS:

• Free-form shells
• shape optimization
• viscoelasticity
• creep effect
• gradient-based method

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, Ye Qiu, upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 51978240 and 51808194] and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities [grant number B200202089].