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A simple approach to find optimal topology of a continuum with tension-only or compression-only material

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Abstract

The material-replacement method is presented to improve the efficiency of topology optimization of a continuum structure with tension-only or compression-only material. Traditionally, a structure with tension-only or compression-only material should be considered as nonlinear in finite element analysis and many times of reanalysis are required to obtain the accurate physical fields for the update of the design variables in optimization. To improve the efficiency of structural optimization, the material-replacement method is proposed, in which the original tension/compression only material is replaced with an isotropic material with the same effective elasticity. The method contents two major ideas. One is the structural reanalysis for nonlinearity of material is put into the global iteration of optimization. The other is that the local stiffness will be modified step by step according to the local stress state. Numerical results show the validity of the method.

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Acknowledgments

Supports for this study are provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 50908190). The author would like to give thanks to an anonymous referee for his/her suggestions.

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  1. College of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China

    Kun Cai

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  1. Kun Cai
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Correspondence to Kun Cai.

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Cai, K. A simple approach to find optimal topology of a continuum with tension-only or compression-only material. Struct Multidisc Optim 43, 827–835 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00158-010-0614-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00158-010-0614-7

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