Mixed reliability-oriented topology optimization for thermo-mechanical structures with multi-source uncertainties

• Published in: Engineering with computers Vol. 38; no. 6; pp. 5489 - 5505
• Main Authors: Meng, Zeng, Guo, Liangbing, Yıldız, Ali Rıza, Wang, Xuan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Springer London 01-12-2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Boundary conditions; CAE) and Design; Calculus of Variations and Optimal Control; Optimization; Cantilever beams; Civil engineering; Classical Mechanics; Computer Science; Computer-Aided Engineering (CAD; Control; Epistemology; Heat conductivity; Load; Load fluctuation; Material properties; Math. Applications in Chemistry; Mathematical and Computational Engineering; Methods; Nested loops; Optimization; Original Article; Systems Theory; Thermal analysis; Topology optimization; Uncertainty; Multi-source uncertainties; Fuzzy; Probabilistic; Reliability-based topology optimization; Coupled thermo-mechanical problem
• ISSN: 0177-0667; 1435-5663
• DOI: 10.1007/s00366-022-01662-1

With the rapid development of topology optimization methodology in engineering application, how to deal with the multi-source uncertainties incurs more and more attention. In this study, an efficient single-loop method is proposed for reliability-based topology optimization (RBTO) of coupled thermo-mechanical continuum structure under multi-source uncertainties. To this end, a novel coupled thermo-mechanical RBTO model composed of triple-nested loops is first constructed based on fuzzy and probability theories, which aims to deal with the multi-source uncertainty factors, such as temperature rise fluctuation, thermal load variation, material property uncertainty, and manufacture tolerance. Second, a new mixed RBTO approach with single-loop is adopted to eliminate the nested triple loops, which aims to promote computational efficiency. Finally, the effectiveness and high performance of the proposed method are validated through a cantilever beam, clamped beam, and three-dimensional structure.