Topology optimization of energy-absorbing structures

Abstract

This paper presents a method for and examples of topology optimization of energy absorption structures. The topology optimization problem is solved by using the elements as design variables. The sensitivity number of an element is derived from using an adjoint method to address two principal design parameters, namely absorbed energy per unit volume, e ₁, and absorbed energy ratio, e ₂. Filter techniques are employed to smooth sensitivities in the design space and to eliminate unnecessary structural details below a certain length-scale. The bi-directional evolutionary optimization (BESO) technique is used to search for the optimal design in the whole design domain by gradually removing and adding material. Several examples are presented to demonstrate the capability and effectiveness of the proposed method.

Key words:

• Energy-absorbing structures
• evolutionary structural optimization
• topology optimization
• non-linear finite element analysis

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors wish to express their gratitude to the Australian Research Council for the financial support in carrying out this work.

Notes

¹ Value has no meaning because the design is dangerous due to F _max > F∗.