Topological Customization for Materials Composition of 3D Heterogeneous Multi-Functional Components

Heterogeneous multi-functional components (HMFC) refer to complex-shaped objects made of two or several materials that are usually distributed in a regular or irregular form within them, which make the components possess two or several desired incompatible properties simultaneously in different parts of them. A novel approach to customizing 3D dual-phase heterogeneous material object is presented, in which the Evolutionary Structural Optimization (ESO) algorithm is extended and used to customize the optimum materials distribution in continuous fashion based on topology optimization philosophy. The basic idea of the approach is to gradually change the materials composition of the higher stress elements rather than remove the underutilized elements from the design domain, and therefore it doesn't induce any changes of the geometrical shape and topology. The computer program is written in ANSYS Parametric Design Language (APDL) under the ANSYS environment. An example of customizing a heterogeneous material hollow cylinder shows the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method.