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Topology optimization of simplified convective heat transfer problems using the finite volume method

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Abstract

Topology optimization of simplified convective heat transfer has been widely studied, but most existing studies are based on the finite element method (FEM); methods based on the finite volume method (FVM) have been less studied. In this paper, a topology optimization method based on FVM was proposed for a simplified convective heat transfer problem. We developed a novel adjoint sensitivity analysis method applicable to FVM, which included adjoint equations, corresponding boundary conditions, and sensitivity analysis equations. Additionally, a program for the proposed topology optimization method was developed in open field operation and manipulation (OpenFOAM) and portable, extensibletoolkit for scientific computation (PETSc). Thus, large-scale topology optimizations could be performed in parallel. Furthermore, numerical examples of the classical two-dimensional (2D) and 3D optimization problems were considered. The results verified the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed method. The results of large-scale 3D examples show an interesting phenomenon that for the optimized designs with few features, the large-scale topology optimization is still valuable for obtaining more effective structural shapes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemical Machinery and Safety, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, China

    Kun Yan & YunYu Wang

  2. Science and Technology on Scramjet Laboratory, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, 410073, China

    Yu Pan & Jian Chen

  3. State Key Laboratory of Structural Analysis for Industrial Equipment, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, China

    Guo Sun, XianHui Cai & GengDong Cheng

Authors
  1. Kun Yan
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  2. YunYu Wang
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  3. Yu Pan
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  4. Guo Sun
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  5. Jian Chen
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  6. XianHui Cai
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  7. GengDong Cheng
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kun Yan.

Additional information

This work was supported by the Aeronautical Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 2020Z009063001) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. DUT22GF303).

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Yan, K., Wang, Y., Pan, Y. et al. Topology optimization of simplified convective heat transfer problems using the finite volume method. Sci. China Technol. Sci. 66, 1352–1364 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11431-022-2198-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11431-022-2198-4

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