This work introduces a topology optimization technique for the design of fail-safe structures made of geometric components. Specifically, the structure is made of the union of bar or plate geometric primitives. The geometry projection method is employed to smoothly map the geometric parameters that describe the primitives onto a continuous density field on the design region. As in conventional topology optimization techniques, this density field is subsequently used to define an ersatz material and perform the structural and sensitivity analyses on a non-body fitted mesh, thus circumventing the need for re-meshing with a body-fitted mesh upon design changes. In the proposed fail-safe design methodology, the performance of the structure is evaluated upon removal of each individual geometric component. Since the number of analyses required is proportional to the number of geometric components and independent from the mesh, the proposed methodology is significantly more efficient than density-based techniques for fail-safe design. Numerical examples of minimization of the maximum compliance for all component removal scenarios are presented to demonstrate the method.
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