Abstract
In order to quickly obtain qualitative designs, First Order Analysis (FOA) is proposed. The basic ideas include (1) graphic interfaces, (2) use of sophisticated formulations based on the theory of mechanics of material, (3) the topology optimization method. The key idea of topology optimization is based on the ground structure approach and the minimization of the mean compliance in order to maximize the global structural stiffness. To realize the above idea, we make the topology optimization tool using beam element. In this tool, ground structure is easily constructed as if to pile building blocks. The min-max approach is employed to deal with multi-objective problems. The design variables are updated using the sensitivities by CONLIN (Convex Linearization). Some examples are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness and usefulness of this method.
