TY - JOUR
T1 - A unified framework for full-parameter concurrent topology optimization of thin-walled stiffened structures
AU - Ji, Wei
AU - Bai, Yingchun
AU - Lin, Cheng
AU - Cui, Xiangyang
AU - Sun, Fengchun
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2026 Elsevier B.V. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.
PY - 2026/5/1
Y1 - 2026/5/1
N2 - Traditional topology optimization methods for thin‑walled stiffened structures focus primarily on stiffener layout and topology. The thin wall is typically treated as a non‑design domain, which restricts design freedom. To overcome this limitation, this paper proposes a full-parameter concurrent topology optimization method for thin‑walled stiffened structures, in which stiffener topology, thin-wall shape, and thin-wall thickness are co-designed. A unified modeling framework is established to describe thin walls and stiffeners via density filtering method. For thin‑wall modeling, a novel two‑step anisotropic‑isotropic filtering and projection scheme is developed by incorporating thin-wall thickness variables to characterize non‑uniform-thickness thin-wall shape. For stiffener modeling, an anisotropic filtering and projection scheme describes variable‑height features, while an improved maximum‑length‑scale constraint prevents material aggregation. In addition, a material interpolation scheme links the density variables to the physical finite‑element model, and a concurrent optimization framework updates the stiffener topology, thin‑wall shape, and thin-wall thickness variables simultaneously. Sensitivities of compliance, volume fraction and maximum-length-scale constraint with respect to design variables are derived and used within the method of moving asymptotes (MMA) to efficiently solve the optimization model. The proposed method is systematically validated through several 3D numerical examples, including practical engineering applications such as a vehicle motor‑mounting bracket and an EV’s casting frontal member.
AB - Traditional topology optimization methods for thin‑walled stiffened structures focus primarily on stiffener layout and topology. The thin wall is typically treated as a non‑design domain, which restricts design freedom. To overcome this limitation, this paper proposes a full-parameter concurrent topology optimization method for thin‑walled stiffened structures, in which stiffener topology, thin-wall shape, and thin-wall thickness are co-designed. A unified modeling framework is established to describe thin walls and stiffeners via density filtering method. For thin‑wall modeling, a novel two‑step anisotropic‑isotropic filtering and projection scheme is developed by incorporating thin-wall thickness variables to characterize non‑uniform-thickness thin-wall shape. For stiffener modeling, an anisotropic filtering and projection scheme describes variable‑height features, while an improved maximum‑length‑scale constraint prevents material aggregation. In addition, a material interpolation scheme links the density variables to the physical finite‑element model, and a concurrent optimization framework updates the stiffener topology, thin‑wall shape, and thin-wall thickness variables simultaneously. Sensitivities of compliance, volume fraction and maximum-length-scale constraint with respect to design variables are derived and used within the method of moving asymptotes (MMA) to efficiently solve the optimization model. The proposed method is systematically validated through several 3D numerical examples, including practical engineering applications such as a vehicle motor‑mounting bracket and an EV’s casting frontal member.
KW - Concurrent topology optimization
KW - Full-parameter modeling
KW - Maximum-length-scale constraint
KW - Non‑uniform-thickness thin wall
KW - Thin-walled stiffened structures
KW - Variable-height stiffener
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105034192166
U2 - 10.1016/j.cma.2026.118850
DO - 10.1016/j.cma.2026.118850
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:105034192166
SN - 0045-7825
VL - 453
JO - Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering
JF - Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering
M1 - 118850
ER -