Explicit Topology Optimization Based on the Joint-Driven Moving Morphable Components

The moving morphable component (MMC) topology optimization method has garnered increasing attention recently due to its ability to provide explicit geometric parameters of optimized structures and seamless integration with CAD systems. However, the classical MMC method may encounter instability during the iterative process due to the excessively free movement of components and geometric defects caused by the incomplete fusion of components. This article proposes a novel joint-driven MMC (JMMC) method to address these issues. The core idea involves introducing a set of joint components to control and constrain the movement and deformation of the ordinary components. These ordinary components are interconnected through the joint components, guiding their movement and deformation within the design domain to facilitate structural layout changes, and the sizes of both ordinary and joint components can also be simultaneously optimized to alter the structural topology. Compared to the classical MMC method, the JMMC method retains the advantages of fewer design variables, explicit geometric information of structural boundaries, and seamless CAD integration while effectively mitigating iterative instability and avoiding the "dirty geometry" issues caused by incomplete component fusion. Numerical examples demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method.