Abstract
This paper proposes a topology optimization method for steady state incompressible viscous flow problems, based on the finite volume method incorporating level set boundary expressions. The optimization problem is formulated to minimize the power dissipation under a volume constraint. The optimization algorithm is developed based on this formulation, using the adjoint variable method for the sensitivity analysis. The update scheme for design variables uses a reaction-diffusion equation derived from the concept of the topological derivative. Here, the finite volume method is applied to solve the governing, adjoint, and reaction-diffusion equations because it is more suitable than the finite element method for solving relatively large-scale problems that include higher Reynolds numbers. Several numerical examples are provided to confirm the utility of the proposed method.
