Detailed design and analysis for additive manufacturing of topologically optimised and generatively designed Ti-6Al-4V Hip Joint Implant

Abstract

In this paper, a comprehensive investigation for the design and analysis of Ti-6Al-4V hip joint implants using generative design and topology optimisation, along with Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) additive manufacturing, has been presented. The study employed the NSGA-II genetic algorithm for generative design, enabling the generation of diverse optimised designs and topology optimisation with the SIMP approach, efficiently reducing implant mass of the design space by up to 75% while maintaining structural integrity. Finite Element Analysis revealed comparable levels of von Misses stress and deformation between geometries obtained with generative design and topology optimisation. However, the combined approach exhibited superior performance, namely topology optimisation followed by generative design, with a 40% reduction in deformation and a 15% reduction in von Misses stress compared to conventional models. LPBF simulations demonstrated the superiority of the optimised geometries, with a 30% reduction in thermal stress and a 66% reduction in deformation compared to conventional designs. It is observed that design input for generative design has a significant impact on the output design. Also, geometry has a notable impact on the quality of the printed part.