Topology optimization for coupled thermos-elastic problem

Abstract

The present study proposes a density-based topology optimization applying the coupled thermo-elastic analysis in order to consider the effect of the both structural analysis and heat conductivity analysis simultaneously. In this study, heat conduction equation is derived from the law of energy conservation and equation of motion, and the displacement and temperature fields are simultaneously solved by employing the generalized degree of freedoms. For topology optimization, material parameters (Young's modulus, thermal expansion coefficient, and heat conductivity etc.) are relaxed by the RAMP approach. The proposed method is verified by a series of numerical examples with the linear thermo-elasticity.