Topology optimization of multi-material structures subjected to dynamic loads

Abstract

Traditional designs for multi-material structures are mostly based on static loads. However, engineering structures are often subjected to dynamic loads. This paper firstly and systematically conducts an in-depth study on the topological design of multi-material structures under dynamic loads. In this method, the definition of design variable adopts the ordered solid isotropic material with penalization (ordered-SIMP) method to normalize the design variable, without introducing any additional variables, the HHT-α method is employed to solve the dynamic optimization problem. To address the dynamic optimization problems with constraints on mass and cost, a convex optimization method based on the concept of sensitivity separation is used to update the design variables, and search for the structural topologies. Finally, this paper provides some numerical examples with respect to time-varying, material parameters, load amplitude, load direction and multiple loads, to discuss in depth the topological and numerical results of these examples.