轨道扣件弹性垫板结构优化设计

采用OptiStruct对某型铁路扣件轨下垫板进行拓扑优化和自由形状优化,实现垫板结构轻量化设计.根据优化空间最大化原则,对垂向载荷工况进行拓扑优化、对极限载荷工况进行自由形状优化.使用Abaqus极限载荷扣件系统仿真模型对优化后垫板结构性能进行验证评价.结果表明:优化后的垫板性能基本不变,质量减少约10%,刚度满足设计要求.优化结果可为垫板轻量化设计提供参考.     

Pattern optimization of eccentrically loaded multi-fastener joints

For structural joints subject to dynamic loading, the fatigue strength is controlled by local stresses. For steel plate structures joined with fasteners, fatigue is governed by local friction and slip near the fasteners. As a working hypothesis for this study, a “weakest link” approach has been adopted. An optimum fastener pattern is attained by reducing the shear load in the most severely loaded fastener in the group. In this study, a typical eccentric multi-fastener bracket-to-beam joint was studied using constrained geometric optimization. Alternate assumptions concerning the distribution of the direct shear force between fasteners in a group were assessed. An analytical expression for non-uniform direct shear force resulted in an optimized fastener pattern with approximately 20% lower von Mises equivalent strain. The comparative finite element method based topology optimization analysis resulted in a contour, which was in close agreement with the fastener pattern attained analytically by exploiting geometry optimization.     

Optimal fastener pattern design considering bearing loads

In many engineering structures, failure occurs either at the connection itself or in the component at the point of attachment of the connection. To extend the service life of the structure it is important to ensure that the loads borne by the connections are distributed as uniformly as possible. This would also minimize the possibility of localized high stress regions within the component. In this work a topology optimization based approach has been developed to incorporate fastener load constraints into a problem formulated for optimal location of fasteners. The computational results indicate that it is effective in reducing the maximum fastener loads without compromising on the overall stiffness of the structure.     

Optimum material design of minimum structural compliance under seepage constraint

In filtration and chemical engineering industry the load carrying capacity and seepage performances are very important for a successful filter design. We study a two-scale structural design optimization problem to minimize structural compliance under given seepage flow rate and material porosity constraints. Structural size, shape and topology are given because of other functional requirements. Structural material used is macro homogeneous porous material with periodic microstructure and is to be designed. Since structural compliance and seepage performances in macro-scale are implicit functions of material microstructural topology, it becomes a two-scale design optimization problem. The cross scale sensitivities are derived by the adjoint method. A new volume preserving nonlinear density filter is proposed which makes the process of optimization iteration more stable. The optimization problem is solved by GCMMA. Examples under the equality constraints of different seepage flow rate are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of two-scale design optimization formulation and solution approach.     

Application of topology optimization to design an electric bicycle main frame

Electric bicycle main frame is the most principal structure, connecting and supporting other various components, while bearing a variety of forces and moments. In this paper the topology optimization technology is applied to generate robust electric bicycle main frame by optimizing the material distribution subject to the constraints and dynamic loads. Geometric, mechanical and finite element models, as well as a flexible coupling dynamic model are constructed. Validity and accuracy of these models are investigated through real-life testing. By applying typical road excitation, dynamic loads of all key points are extracted. A set of forces data is extracted every 0.5?s during the whole simulation, including peak values of these forces. In order to obtain appropriate topology optimization results, the values of two crucial parameters, volume fraction and minimum member size, are discussed respectively. Then the topology optimization of multi-load case is implemented with the objective of minimizing the set of weighted compliances resulting from individual load cases. Results illustrate that element density distribution of the model is optimized with manufacturing constraints of minimum member size control and extrusion constraint. Consequently, the better frame form design of the electric bicycle is obtained. Modal analysis for the original and refined models is performed respectively to evaluate the structure stiffness. The results indicate that this optimization program is effective enough to develop a new electric bicycle frame as a reference for manufacturers.     

Topology optimization of frame structures with flexible joints

A method for structural topology optimization of frame structures with flexible joints is presented. A typical frame structure is a set of beams and joints assembled to carry an applied load. The problem considered in this paper is to find the stiffest frame for a given mass. By introducing design variables for beams and joints, a mass distribution for optimal structural stiffness can be found. Each beam can have several design variables connected to its cross section. One of these is an area-type design variable which is used to represent the global size of the beam. The other design variables are of length ratio type, controlling the cross section of the beam. Joints are flexible elements connecting the beams in the structure. Each joint has stiffness properties and a mass. A framework for modelling these stiffnesses is presented and design variables for joints are introduced. We prove a theorem which can be interpreted as the fact that the removal of structural elements, e.g. joints or beams, can be modelled by a small strictly positive material amount assigned to the element. This is needed for the computations of sensitivities used in the applied gradient based iterative method. Both two and three dimensional problems, as well as multiple load cases and multiple mass constraints, are treated.     

Topology optimization using a dual method with discrete variables

This paper deals with topology optimization of continuous structures in static linear elasticity. The problem consists in distributing a given amount of material in a specified domain modelled by a fixed finite element mesh in order to minimize the compliance. As the design variables can only take two values indicating the presence or absence of material (1 and 0), this problem is intrinsicallydiscrete. Here, it is solved by a mathematical programming method working in the dual space and specially designed to handle discrete variables. This method is very wellsuited to topology optimization, because it is particularly efficient for problems with a large number of variables and a small number of constraints. To ensure the existence of a solution, the perimeter of the solid parts is bounded. A computer program including analysis and optimization has been developed. As it is specialized for regular meshes, the computational time is drastically reduced. Some classical 2-D and new 3-D problems are solved, with up to 30,000 design variables. Extensions to multiple load cases and to gravity loads are also examined.     

Achieving stress-constrained topological design via length scale control

A new suite of computational procedures for stress-constrained continuum topology optimization is presented. In contrast to common approaches for imposing stress constraints, herein it is proposed to limit the maximum stress by controlling the length scale of the optimized design. Several procedures are formulated based on the treatment of the filter radius as a design variable. This enables to automatically manipulate the minimum length scale such that stresses are constrained to the allowable value, while the optimization is driven to minimizing compliance under a volume constraint – without any direct constraints on stresses. Numerical experiments are presented that incorporate the following : 1) Global control over the filter radius that leads to a uniform minimum length scale throughout the design; 2) Spatial variation of the filter radius that leads to local manipulation of the minimum length according to stress concentrations; and 3) Combinations of the two above. The optimized designs provide high-quality trade-offs between compliance, stress and volume. From a computational perspective, the proposed procedures are efficient and simple to implement: essentially, stress-constrained topology optimization is posed as a minimum compliance problem with additional treatment of the length scale.     

On some fundamental properties of structural topology optimization problems

We study some fundamental mathematical properties of discretized structural topology optimization problems. Either compliance is minimized with an upper bound on the volume of the structure, or volume is minimized with an upper bound on the compliance. The design variables are either continuous or 0–1. We show, by examples which can be solved by hand calculations, that the optimal solutions to the problems in general are not unique and that the discrete problems possibly have inactive volume or compliance constraints. These observations have immediate consequences on the theoretical convergence properties of penalization approaches based on material interpolation models. Furthermore, we illustrate that the optimal solutions to the considered problems in general are not symmetric even if the design domain, the external loads, and the boundary conditions are symmetric around an axis. The presented examples can be used as teaching material in graduate and undergraduate courses on structural topology optimization.     

Topology optimization of frame structures—joint penalty and material selection

This paper deals with joint penalization and material selection in frame topology optimization. The models used in this study are frame structures with flexible joints. The problem considered is to find the frame design which fulfills a stiffness requirement at the lowest structural weight. To support topological change of joints, each joint is modelled as a set of subelements. A set of design variables are applied to each beam and joint subelement. Two kinds of design variables are used. One of these variables is an area-type design variable used to control the global element size and support a topology change. The other variables are length ratio variables controlling the cross section of beams and internal stiffness properties of the joints. This paper presents two extensions to classical frame topology optimization. Firstly, penalization of structural joints is presented. This introduces the possibility of finding a topology with less complexity in terms of the number of beam connections. Secondly, a material interpolation scheme is introduced to support mixed material design.     

Structural optimization under uncertain loads and nodal locations

This paper presents algorithms for solving structural topology optimization problems with uncertainty in the magnitude and location of the applied loads and with small uncertainty in the location of the structural nodes. The second type of uncertainty would typically arise from fabrication errors where the tolerances for the node locations are small in relation to the length scale of the structural elements. We first review the discrete form of the uncertain loads problem, which has been previously solved using a weighted average of multiple load patterns. With minor modifications, we extend this solution to include loads described by continuous joint probability density functions. We then proceed to the main contribution of this paper: structural optimization under uncertainty in the nodal locations. This optimization problem is computationally difficult because it involves variations of the inverse of the structural stiffness matrix. It is shown, however, that for small uncertainties the problem can be recast into a simpler but equivalent structural optimization problem with equivalent uncertain loads. By expressing these equivalent loads in terms of continuous random variables, we are able to make use of the extended form of the uncertain loads problem presented in the first part of this paper. The optimization algorithms are developed in the context of minimum compliance (maximum stiffness) design. Simple examples are presented. The results demonstrate that load and nodal uncertainties can have dramatic impact on optimal design. For structures containing thin substructures under axial loads, it is shown that these uncertainties (a) are of first-order significance, influencing the linear elastic response quantities, and (b) can affect designs by avoiding unrealistically optimistic and potentially unstable structures. The additional computational cost associated with the uncertainties scales linearly with the number of uncertainties and is insignificant compared to the cost associated with solving the deterministic structural optimization problem.     

Some aspects of truss topology optimization

The present paper studies some aspects of formulations of truss topology optimization problems. The ground structure approach-based formulations of three types of truss topology optimization problems, namely the problems of minimum weight design for a given compliance, of minimum weight design with stress constraints and of minimum weight design with stress constraints and local buckling constraints are examined. The common difficulties with the formulations of the three problems are discussed. Since the continuity of the constraint or/and objective function is an important factor for the determination of the mathematical structure of optimization problems, the issue of the continuity of stress, displacement and compliance functions in terms of the cross-sectional areas at zero area is studied. It is shown that the bar stress function has discontinuity at zero crosssectional area, and the structural displacement and compliance are continuous functions of the cross-sectional area. Based on the discontinuity of the stress function we point out the features of the feasible domain and global optimum for optimization problems with stress and/or local buckling constraints, and conclude that they are mathematical programming with discontinuous constraint functions and that they are essentially discrete optimization problems. The difference between topology optimization with global constraints such as structural compliance and that with local constraints on stress or/and local buckling is notable and has important consequences for the solution approach.     

Lightweight flatbed trailer design by using topology and thickness optimization

A new design for a lightweight flatbed trailer with high bending stiffness and torsional frequency is presented. The design procedure consists of two main steps: topology optimization and thickness optimization. During topology optimization, a creative frame layout different from existing ladder-type frames can be obtained by searching the best layout out of all possible layouts of a simplified design domain model. After approximating the result of topology optimization as a thin-walled structure, the approximated thicknesses of the plates are optimized to minimize the mass of a trailer. The bending stiffness and torsional frequency obtained by topology optimization are set as design constraints for thickness optimization. Due to the closed cross-section, the optimized trailer can efficiently increase the stiffness-to-mass ratio to a large extent. Discrete thicknesses are employed as design variables for thickness optimization so that the thicknesses of the plates of a trailer can be included in those of commercially available high-strength steel products. The final model has a 29% reduction in total mass, a 21% decrease in mean compliance with a uniform bending load, and a 169% increase in torsional frequency.     

A method for treating damage related criteria in optimal topology design of continuum structures

In this paper we present a formulation of the wellknown structural topology optimization problem that accounts for the presence of loads capable of causing permanent damage to the structure. Damage is represented in the form of an internal variable model which is standard in continuum damage mechanics. Here we employ an interpretation of this model as an optimum remodeling problem for maximal compliance over all damage distributions, making also the analysis of the damage model a study in structural optimization. The damage criterion can be included in the optimal design model in a number of ways. We present results for finding the optimal topology of the reinforcement of an existing design with the goal of minimizing damage. Also, we treat the problem of finding the topology of a structure where we seek maximal stiffness under service loads with a constraint on the amount of damage which occurs under a separate set of damage loads.     

Gradient-based selection of cross sections: a novel approach for optimal frame structure design

Optimization of frame structures composed of beams, columns and joints is considered. The problem is to find the optimal combination of standard cross sections from a provided catalog. The approach taken utilizes the Discrete Material Optimization (DMO) method to parameterize the problem and optimize using a gradient based method. It has roots in continuum topology optimization and thus strong parallels are drawn hereto in terms of methodology. The MATLAB implementation can take mass, compliance and stress criteria into account. In addition continuous joint stiffness design variables will indicate whether the joint should be rigid or pinned. Issues related to the non-convexity of the design spaces and the numerous local minima are discussed. The numerical results with benchmark models of varying complexity successfully validate the method as a design tool.     

A new solution for topology optimization problems with multiple loads:The guide-weight method

The guide-weight method is introduced to solve two kinds of topology optimization problems with multiple loads in this paper.The guide-weight method and its Lagrange multipliers' solution methods are presented first,and the Lagrange multipliers' soution method of problems with multiple constraints is improved by the dual method.Then the iterative formulas of the guide-weight method for topology optimization problems of minimum compliance and minimum weight are derived and coresponding numerical examples are...     

Computer analysis of fastener load distribution in a multi-row joint

The fastener load distribution in a multi-row joint was investigated and general equations were obtained. The effects of essential parameters considered in the joint design on the fastener load distribution were analyzed and computer solutions were obtained. The results indicated that the fastener load at the end rows can be adequately reduced when the effects of the parameters were jointly analyzed. The method of equal partition of load among rows of fasteners, including the effect of friction, was developed.     

Game theory approach to robust topology optimization with uncertain loading

The paper concerns robustness with respect to uncertain loading in topology optimization problems. Using a game theoretic framework we formulate problems, or games, defining generalized Nash equilibria. In each game a set of topology design variables aim to find an optimal topology, while a set of load variables aim to find the worst possible load. Several numerical examples with uncertain loading are solved in 2D and 3D. The games are formulated using global stress, mass and compliance as objective functions or constraints.     

Stress-based design of thermal structures via topology optimization

The design of thermal structures in the aerospace industry, including exhaust structures on embedded engine aircraft and hypersonic thermal protection systems, poses a number of complex design challenges. These challenges are particularly well addressed by the material layout capabilities of structural topology optimization; however, no topology optimization methods are readily available with the necessary thermoelastic considerations for these problems. This is due in large part to the emphasis on cases of maximum stiffness design for structures subjected to externally applied mechanical loads in the majority of topology optimization applications. In addition, while limited work in the literature has investigated thermoelastic topology optimization, a direct treatment of thermal stresses is not well documented. Such a treatment is critical in the design of thermal structures where excessive thermal stresses are a primary failure mode. In this paper, we present a method for the topology optimization of structures with combined mechanical and thermoelastic (temperature) loads that are subject to stress constraints. We present the necessary steps needed to address both the design-dependent thermal loads and accommodate the challenges of stress-based design criteria. A relaxation technique is utilized to remove the singularity phenomenon in stresses and the large number of stress constraints is handled using a scaled aggregation technique that has been shown previously to satisfy prescribed stress limits in mechanical problems. Finally, the stress-based thermoelastic formulation is applied to two numerical example problems to demonstrate its effectiveness.     

On simultaneous optimization of truss geometry and topology

The paper addresses the classical problem of optimal truss design where cross-sectional areas and the positions of joints are simultaneously optimized. Se-veral approaches are discussed from a general point of view. In particular, we focus on the difference between simultaneous and alternating optimization of geometry and topology. We recall a rigorously mathematical approach based on the implicit programming technique which considers the classical single load minimum compliance problem subject to a volume constraint. This approach is refined leading to three new problem formulations which can be treated by methods of Mathematical Programming. In particular, these formulations cover the effect of melting end nodes, i.e., vanishing potential bars due to changes in the geometry. In one of these new problem formulations, the objective function is a polynomial of degree three and the constraints are bilinear or just sign constraints. Because heuristics is avoided, certain optimality properties can be proven for resulting structures. The paper closes with two numerical test examples.