Abstract
The present study proposes a multiscale topology optimization method of cross-section structures that control the macroscopic thermal deformations of a thick composite plates. The proposed optimization method is based on the two-scale composite plate model, in which thick plate theory is employed at macro-scale, while three-dimensional solids are assumed for in-plane periodic microstructures (unit cells) whose scale is comparable with the plate’s thickness. The process of the in-plane homogenization in a two-scale analysis corresponds to numerical plate testings (NPTs) to compute the macroscopic plate stiffness of the thick plate. In addition, the co-rotational formulation is employed to account for large displacement and rotation of the macroscopic plate structure, whereas material models used in in-plane unit cells, are assumed to be linearly elastic. The optimization problem that controls a nodal displacement of the macrostructure is selected as numerical examples, and their solutions are provided to demonstrate the capability of the proposed method.
