A geometry projection method for designing and optimizing additively manufactured variable-stiffness composite laminates

A method for designing laminates is presented using geometry projection to optimize the layout of additively manufactured variable-stiffness composite laminates. By considering fiberreinforced bars as geometric primitives, the geometry projection methodology is extended to include optimizing regions with intersecting load paths. This is achieved by utilizing a dual representation of bars, which considers the geometric parameters and the element-wise density field representation. The dual representation enables the combining and overlapping of bars, resulting in a localized orthotropic material response at overlapping regions that mitigates the transverse compliant response of fiberreinforced components. The proposed method’s effectiveness is demonstrated through minimizing the compliance of the Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm beam problem, a well-known benchmark problem in topology optimization.