Phase-field based robust topology and orientation optimization under fiber orientation uncertainty

Abstract

Recently, there has been an increased usage of fiber-reinforced composites in aerospace and automobile due to their celebrated mechanical properties. Thus, a massive research effort has hitherto been done to develop a method for concurrent optimization of structural topology and fiber orientation. Topology-optimized continuous fiber-reinforced structures tend to show complex morphologies with spatially varying fiber orientation. Due to this nature, it is nearly possible to manufacture the results only through additive manufacturing technology However, a gap must exist between prescribed optimized fiber orientation and fiber orientation of manufactured composites under a limited degree of precision of the manufacturing process. Robust anisotropic topology optimization under such uncertainty, therefore, needs to be developed. This presentation aims to present a novel robust topology optimization methodology for fiber-reinforced materials under fiber orientation uncertainty. Our method is built upon Phase-Field based topology optimization which is suitable for this type of optimization method. The effectiveness of our method is validated through the stiffness maximization problem and the fundamental eigenfrequency maximization problem.