Thickness Constraints for Topology Optimization Using the Fictitious Physical Model

Abstract

Thickness constraint is an important geometrical constraint in topology optimization methods. I present a novel approach of the thickness constraint based on the Fictitious Physical Model (FPM). The FPM is formulated using the similarity of the dispersive coefficient in high order homogenization. The thickness constraint is represented using the solutions of the linear partial deferential equation system. Its design sensitivity is derived using the adjoint variable method. Numerical example is shown to confirm the validity and utility of the proposed method using the level set-based topology optimization method. The main advantage of the proposed method is the allowance of thickness constraint violations during the optimization procedure. Furthermore, the thickness is computed without computing minimum distances from the boundaries of target shape.