System reliability-based design optimization and risk-based optimization: a benchmark example considering progressive collapse

System Reliability-Based Design Optimization (RBDO) considers a single system failure probability constraint. The formulation allows different failure modes to compete with each other. Very few methods and benchmark examples involving optimal design considering system behaviour with progressive failure can be found in the literature. In this article, the conventional System RBDO formulation is compared with a risk-based formulation. A benchmark example involving progressive failure of hyper-static truss is addressed. It is demonstrated that typical System RBDO formulations always lead to isostatic structures, since the formulation does not offer any incentive for the permanence of hyper-static members. In the risk-based formulation, failure costs are differentiated with respect to primary member failure, in hyper-static structures (existence of warning before eventual collapse), and failure of isostatic members (no warning). In this formulation, optimal designs also include hyper-static structures. Results presented herein are relevant in the modern context of robust design considering progressive collapse.     

Robust topology optimization of compliant mechanisms with uncertainties in output stiffness

This work addresses the topology optimization approach to design robust compliant mechanisms with respect to uncertainties in the output stiffness, when compared to the traditional deterministic approach. To this end, two formulations are proposed: probabilistic and nonprobabilistic. The probabilistic formulation minimizes a joint objective function of expected output displacement plus a measure of its standard deviations, for given statistical distribution of the output stiffness. The nonprobabilistic formulation is written as minimization of a joint function of the median of output displacements, plus the width of the intervals that contains the extreme values of the output displacements, for a given interval of output stiffness. The Monte Carlo simulation method is used to evaluate expected values and standard deviations of output displacements in the probabilistic formulation and to assess results obtained with the deterministic approach. It is shown that both formulations lead to designs where output displacements are less sensitive to variations of output stiffness when compared to the traditional deterministic approach. Furthermore, as an additional benefit, it is observed that large variations of output stiffness can hinder the appearance of one-node connected hinges, usually found in the deterministic design of compliant mechanisms.     

Robust shape and topology optimization considering geometric uncertainties with stochastic level set perturbation

When geometric uncertainties arising from manufacturing errors are comparable with the characteristic length or the product responses are sensitive to such uncertainties, the products of deterministic design cannot perform robustly. This paper presents a new level set‐based framework for robust shape and topology optimization against geometric uncertainties. We first propose a stochastic level set perturbation model of uncertain topology/shape to characterize manufacturing errors in conjunction with Karhunen–Loève (K–L) expansion. We then utilize polynomial chaos expansion to implement the stochastic response analysis. In this context, the mathematical formulation of the considered robust shape and topology optimization problem is developed, and the adjoint‐variable shape sensitivity scheme is derived. An advantage of this method is that relatively large shape variations and even topological changes can be accounted for with desired accuracy and efficiency. Numerical examples are given to demonstrate the validity of the present formulation and numerical techniques. In particular, this method is justified by the observations in minimum compliance problems, where slender bars vanish when the manufacturing errors become comparable with the characteristic length of the structures. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A new method to generate the ground structure in truss topology optimization

The aim of this article is to provide an effective method to generate the ground structure in truss topology optimization. The core of this method is to place nodal points for the ground structure at the intersection of the first and third principal stress trajectories, which are obtained by solving the equivalent static problem in the design domain with a homogeneous isotropic material property. It is applicable to generate the ground structure for arbitrary regular and irregular geometric design domains. The proposed method is tested on some benchmark examples in truss topology optimization. The optimization model is a standard linear programming problem based on plastic design and solved by the interior point algorithm. Compared with other methods, the proposed method may use a well-defined ground structure with fewer nodes and bars, resulting in faster solution convergence, which shows it to be efficient.     

Robust topology optimization of optical cloaks under uncertainties in wave number and angle of incident wave

This article presents a robust topology optimization method for optical cloaks under uncertainties in the wave number and angle in the incident wave. We first discuss the governing equation derived from Maxwell's equation, and extend it to the entire domain including the dielectric material and air, based on the level set-based topology optimization method. Next, a robust optimization problem is formulated as a minimization problem of the weighted sum of the scattered wave norm and its standard deviation with respect to the wave number and angle of the incident wave. The standard deviation is mathematically expressed by the Taylor series approximation and the use of the adjoint variable method. The design sensitivity of the objective functional is also derived by the adjoint variable method. An optimization algorithm is then constructed, based on the proposed formulation for robust designs of optical cloaks. Several numerical examples are finally provided to demonstrate the validity and utility of the proposed method.