A Topology Optimization Method With Constant Volume Fraction During Iterations for Design of Compliant Mechanisms

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chih-Hsing Liu ◽  
Guo-Feng Huang
Keyword(s):  
Topology Optimization ◽  
Compliant Mechanisms ◽  
Volume Fraction ◽  
Optimization Method ◽  
Benchmark Problems ◽  
Maximum Output ◽  
Output Displacement ◽  
Calculated Volume ◽  
Traditional Approaches ◽  
Topology Optimization Method

This study presents a topology optimization method for design of complaint mechanisms with maximum output displacement as the objective function. Unlike traditional approaches, one special characteristic of this method is that the volume fraction, which is defined as the calculated volume divided by the full volume, remains the same value throughout the optimization process based on the proposed pseudodensity and sensitivity number update scheme. The pseudodensity of each element is initially with the same value as the prespecified volume fraction constraint and can be decreased to a very small value or increased to one with a small increment. Two benchmark problems, the optimal design of a force–displacement inverter mechanism and a crunching mechanism, are provided as the illustrative examples to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The results agree well with the previous studies. The proposed method is a general approach which can be used to synthesize the optimal designs of compliant mechanisms with better computational efficiency.

An Evolutionary Soft-Add Topology Optimization Method for Synthesis of Compliant Mechanisms With Maximum Output Displacement

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chih-Hsing Liu ◽  
Guo-Feng Huang ◽  
Ta-Lun Chen
Keyword(s):  
Topology Optimization ◽  
Compliant Mechanisms ◽  
Volume Fraction ◽  
Compliant Mechanism ◽  
Optimization Method ◽  
Computational Time ◽  
Maximum Output ◽  
Spring Stiffness ◽  
Output Displacement ◽  
Topology Optimization Method

This paper presents an evolutionary soft-add topology optimization method for synthesis of compliant mechanisms. Unlike the traditional hard-kill or soft-kill approaches, a soft-add scheme is proposed in this study where the elements are equivalent to be numerically added into the analysis domain through the proposed approach. The objective function in this study is to maximize the output displacement of the analyzed compliant mechanism. Three numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The results show that the optimal topologies of the analyzed compliant mechanisms are in good agreement with previous studies. In addition, the computational time can be greatly reduced by using the proposed soft-add method in the analysis cases. As the target volume fraction in topology optimization for the analyzed compliant mechanism is usually below 30% of the design domain, the traditional methods which remove unnecessary elements from 100% turn into inefficient. The effect of spring stiffness on the optimized topology has also been investigated. It shows that higher stiffness values of the springs can obtain a clearer layout and minimize the one-node hinge problem for two-dimensional cases. The effect of spring stiffness is not significant for the three-dimensional case.

scholarly journals Design and Development of a Compliant Clutch Fork using Topology Optimization

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 3625-3629
Keyword(s):  
Topology Optimization ◽  
Compliant Mechanisms ◽  
Optimization Method ◽  
Automotive Application ◽  
Material Distribution ◽  
Optimum Size ◽  
Elastic Continuum ◽  
Active Research ◽  
Design Experiments ◽  
Topology Optimization Method

Compliant mechanisms and its systems are the focus of the active research. It describes a single elastic continuum used to transfer the motion and force mechanically. Their flexibility and stabilities are significant. Topology optimization Method is taken for designing the compliant mechanisms. It is a Material distribution approach for finding the optimum size and shape of the structure. The Author focused mainly on automotive application of Compliant Mechanism.i.e Design and implement of compliant clutch fork using topology optimization. Dimensional data is gathered in order to model the actual clutch fork. Compliant clutch fork designs are developed by reducing the weights compare to actual clutch fork with the help of topology optimization to get optimal compliant design. Experiments are directed to confirm the functionality of compliant clutch fork.

Electro-thermal compliant mechanisms design by an evolutionary topology optimization method

2013 ◽  
Vol 30 (7) ◽  
pp. 961-981 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rubén Ansola ◽  
Estrella Veguería ◽  
Javier Canales ◽  
Cristina Alonso
Keyword(s):  
Topology Optimization ◽  
Compliant Mechanisms ◽  
Optimization Method ◽  
Topology Optimization Method

scholarly journals A Topology Optimization Method Based on Non-Uniform Rational Basis Spline Hyper-Surfaces for Heat Conduction Problems

Symmetry ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 888
Author(s):  
Marco Montemurro ◽  
Khalil Refai
Keyword(s):  
Topology Optimization ◽  
Heat Conduction ◽  
Problem Formulation ◽  
Optimization Method ◽  
Density Field ◽  
Benchmark Problems ◽  
Rational Basis ◽  
Simp Method ◽  
The One ◽  
Topology Optimization Method

This work deals with heat conduction problems formulation in the framework of a CAD-compatible topology optimization method based on a pseudo-density field as a topology descriptor. In particular, the proposed strategy relies, on the one hand, on the use of CAD-compatible Non-Uniform Rational Basis Spline (NURBS) hyper-surfaces to represent the pseudo-density field and, on the other hand, on the well-known Solid Isotropic Material with Penalization (SIMP) approach. The resulting method is then referred to as NURBS-based SIMP method. In this background, heat conduction problems have been reformulated by taking advantage of the properties of the NURBS entities. The influence of the integer parameters, involved in the definition of the NURBS hyper-surface, on the optimized topology is investigated. Furthermore, symmetry constraints, as well as a manufacturing requirement related to the minimum allowable size, are also integrated into the problem formulation without introducing explicit constraint functions, thanks to the NURBS blending functions properties. Finally, since the topological variable is represented by means of a NURBS entity, the geometrical representation of the boundary of the topology is available at each iteration of the optimization process and its reconstruction becomes a straightforward task. The effectiveness of the NURBS-based SIMP method is shown on 2D and 3D benchmark problems taken from the literature.

scholarly journals Jacobian-Based Topology Optimization Method Using an Improved Stiffness Evaluation

2017 ◽  
Vol 140 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohui Jin ◽  
Xianmin Zhang ◽  
Zhou Yang ◽  
Benliang Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Topology Optimization ◽  
Jacobian Matrix ◽  
Optimization Method ◽  
Benchmark Problems ◽  
Parallel Mechanisms ◽  
General Applicability ◽  
Stiffness Evaluation ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Topology Optimization Method

A Jacobian-based topology optimization method is recently proposed for compliant parallel mechanisms (CPMs), in which the CPMs' Jacobian matrix and characteristic stiffness are optimized simultaneously to achieve kinematic and stiffness requirement, respectively. Lately, it is found that the characteristic stiffness fails to ensure a valid topology result in some particular cases. To solve this problem, an improved stiffness evaluation based on the definition of stiffness is adopted in this paper. This new stiffness evaluation is verified and compared with the characteristic stiffness by using several design examples. In addition, several typical benchmark problems (e.g., displacement inverter, amplifier, and redirector) are solved by using the Jacobian-based topology optimization method to show its general applicability.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document