Abstract
In this paper a topology optimization algorithm of shell structure subject to crashing deformations is presented. As a topology optimization method the density method is used and the work done by the external loads is employed as the object function. In the density method the element density is taken as the design variable and material properties such as Young's modulus, the tangent modulus or the yield stress are assumed to be power functions of it. The bilinear shell element, which is widely used for the car crash analysis, is employed in the crash analysis with the explicit time integration scheme. The sensitivity analysis is conducted numerically using the history of nodal displacements and the density of the elements are updated with the optimality criteria method. Through several numerical examples it was shown that the present method is useful to design a shell structure which has the largest or a specified amount of energy absorption capacity.
