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Section: New Results

Shape and topology optimization

Second-order shape derivatives along normal trajectories, governed by Hamilton-Jacobi equations

G. Allaire, E. Cancès and J.-L. Vié

In this work we introduce a new variant of shape differentiation which is adapted to the deformation of shapes along their normal direction. This is typically the case in the level-set method for shape optimization where the shape evolves with a normal velocity. As all other variants of the orginal Hadamard method of shape differentiation, our approach yields the same first order derivative. However, the Hessian or second-order derivative is different and somehow simpler since only normal movements are allowed. The applications of this new Hessian formula are twofold. First, it leads to a novel extension method for the normal velocity, used in the Hamilton-Jacobi equation of front propagation. Second, as could be expected, it is at the basis of a Newton optimization algorithm which is conceptually simpler since no tangential displacements have to be considered. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the potentiality of these two applications. The key technical tool for our approach is the method of bicharacteristics for solving Hamilton-Jacobi equations. Our new idea is to differentiate the shape along these bicharacteristics (a system of two ordinary differential equations).

Introducing a level-set based shape and topology optimization method for the wear of composite materials with geometric constraints

G. Allaire, F. Feppon, G. Michailidis, M.S. Sidebottom, B.A. Krick and N. Vermaak

The wear of materials continues to be a limiting factor in the lifetime and performance of mechanical systems with sliding surfaces. As the demand for low wear materials grows so does the need for models and methods to systematically optimize tribological systems. Elastic foundation models offer a simplified framework to study the wear of multimaterial composites subject to abrasive sliding. Previously, the evolving wear profile has been shown to converge to a steady-state that is characterized by a time-independent elliptic equation. In this article, the steady-state formulation is generalized and integrated with shape optimization to improve the wear performance of bi-material composites. Both macroscopic structures and periodic material microstructures are considered. Several common tribological objectives for systems undergoing wear are identified and mathematically formalized with shape derivatives. These include (i) achieving a planar wear surface from multimaterial composites and (ii) minimizing the run-in volume of material lost before steady-state wear is achieved. A level-set based topology optimization algorithm that incorporates a novel constraint on the level-set function is presented. In particular, a new scheme is developed to update material interfaces; the scheme (i) conveniently enforces volume constraints at each iteration, (ii) controls the complexity of design features using perimeter penalization, and (iii) nucleates holes or inclusions with the topological gradient. The broad applicability of the proposed formulation for problems beyond wear is discussed, especially for problems where convenient control of the complexity of geometric features is desired.

Geometric constraints for shape and topology optimization in architectural design

G. Allaire, C. Dapogny, A. Faure, G. Michailidis, A. Couvelas and R. Estevez

This work proposes a shape and topology optimization framework oriented towards conceptual architectural design. A particular emphasis is put on the possibility for the user to interfere on the optimization process by supplying information about his personal taste. More precisely, we formulate three novel constraints on the geometry of shapes; while the first two are mainly related to aesthetics, the third one may also be used to handle several fabrication issues that are of special interest in the device of civil structures. The common mathematical ingredient to all three models is the signed distance function to a domain, and its sensitivity analysis with respect to perturbations of this domain; in the present work, this material is extended to the case where the ambient space is equipped with an anisotropic metric tensor. Numerical examples are discussed in two and three space dimensions.

Modal basis approaches in shape and topology optimization of frequency response problems

G. Allaire and G. Michailidis

The optimal design of mechanical structures subject to periodic excitations within a large frequency interval is quite challenging. In order to avoid bad performances for non-discretized frequencies, it is necessary to finely discretize the frequency interval, leading to a very large number of state equations. Then, if a standard adjoint-based approach is used for optimization, the computational cost (both in terms of CPU and memory storage) may be prohibitive for large problems, especially in three space dimensions. The goal of the present work is to introduce two new non-adjoint approaches for dealing with frequency response problems in shape and topology optimization. In both cases, we rely on a classical modal basis approach to compute the states, solutions of the direct problems. In the first method, we do not use any adjoint but rather directly compute the shape derivatives of the eigenmodes in the modal basis. In the second method, we compute the adjoints of the standard approach by using again the modal basis. The numerical cost of these two new strategies are much smaller than the usual ones if the number of modes in the modal basis is much smaller than the number of discretized excitation frequencies. We present numerical examples for the minimization of the dynamic compliance in two and three space dimensions.