Generalized Anisotropic Multiobjective Topology Optimization for Naval Additive Manufacturing

Abstract The use of topology optimization algorithms for engineering design has become widespread. Motivated by the objective of producing lightweight, high-performance components, a wide variety of approaches have emerged, and many alternatives now exist for every stage of the associated computing pipeline. The present work introduces a generalized topology optimization framework for use in the area of additive manufacturing (AM), with a focus on naval applications. The development of this framework is outlined, with particular attention paid to the development of an anisotropic experimental data-driven material constitutive model. Additionally, methods for handling arbitrary numbers of objectives, design constraints imposed by additive manufacturing process physics, and boundary conditions particular to naval applications are explored. Steps for post-processing and refining the optimizer output in order to produce manufacturing-ready files are also discussed. The approach is demonstrated on a pair of test cases. The first is the design of an optimized “conformal” pressure vessel, which departs from the typical sphere / cylinder forms and allows for increased storage capacity by occupying a non-convex envelope space. The second application problem is the design of an optimized propulsor intended to be produced using large-scale AM. This propulsor is optimized for inertial and hydrodynamic loads, and a parametric study of the effect of outer shell thickness is performed.