Topshape: an attempt to create design proposals including manufacturing constraints
by Lothar Harzheim, Gerhard Graf
International Journal of Vehicle Design (IJVD), Vol. 28, No. 4, 2002

Abstract: Topology optimisation has been proved to be a very effective tool in the early stage of the development process, in particular for cast parts. Nevertheless, the interpretation of the design proposals is often very difficult because there are no manufacturing restrictions included in the optimisation algorithms. In particular, the tendency to create hollow proposals with a lot of holes makes it difficult to create components which can be manufactured. The program TopShape has been developed to attempt to take manufacturing constraints into account. It is a synthesis of programs for shape optimisation (CAO) and topology optimisation (SKO). The component design is described by means of a density distribution as in topology optimisation, whereas the algorithm defining how to modify the shape is taken from the shape optimisation area. Furthermore, algorithms have been added to ensure the connectivity of the model and to prevent the creation of holes. Hence, the topology remains unchanged during the optimisation process and the tendency to create a hollow design is suppressed. The resulting method is a very flexible shape optimisation method, in which the result is not a very detailed design but a rough proposal, which is now easier to interpret. In this paper, results will be shown to demonstrate the method. In addition, options such as minimum thickness control, prescribed slide directions and the extension to frequency problems will be discussed.

Online publication date: Fri, 15-Aug-2003

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