A nonlocal approach to graded surface modeling in topology optimization A nonlocal approach to graded surface modeling in topology

Additively manufactured structures often exhibit a correlation between their mechanical properties, such as stiffness, strength, and porosity, and their wall thickness. This correlation stems from the interplay between the manufacturing process and the properties of the filler material. In this stud...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inStructural and multidisciplinary optimization Vol. 68; no. 4
Main Authors Singh, Sukhminder, Pflug, Lukas, Wein, Fabian, Stingl, Michael
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.04.2025
Subjects
Computational Mathematics and Numerical Analysis
Engineering
Engineering Design
Research Paper
Theoretical and Applied Mechanics
Surface grading
Topology optimization
Nonlocal integral model
Additive manufacturing
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Summary:Additively manufactured structures often exhibit a correlation between their mechanical properties, such as stiffness, strength, and porosity, and their wall thickness. This correlation stems from the interplay between the manufacturing process and the properties of the filler material. In this study, we investigate the thickness-dependent effect on structural stiffness and propose a nonlocal integral model that introduces surface grading of Young’s modulus to capture this phenomenon. We incorporate this model into topology optimization for designing structures with optimized compliance subject to a volume constraint. Notably, elastically degraded surfaces penalize excessively thin features, effectively eliminating them from the optimized design. The effectiveness of the proposed framework is demonstrated through two- and three-dimensional examples.
ISSN:1615-147X
1615-1488
DOI:10.1007/s00158-025-04024-9