Adaptive Plan Using Sigmoid Function for Nonlinear Topology Optimization

Topology optimization is a process that distributes material into the necessary position of a design area under the action of external force. The main purpose of this process is to decrease the mass of a structure whilst still ensuring its strength. In this field, proportional topology optimization (PTO) is a popular non-sensitivity technique. This method updates material density through the relationship between the maximum stress at each iteration and allowable stress of the material. Additionally, the target of the material amount is added or removed by a certain ratio of the total number of elements. This renders the optimization to reach convergence a time-consuming process. This paper assumes that the ratio of moving material at each iteration has a significant effect on the convergence of the optimization process. Thus, this paper proposes adaptive moving material using the Sigmoid function for the proportional technique. A cantilever with nonlinear characteristic material is used to verify the effectiveness of this approach