An efficient numerical method for computing the topological sensitivity of arbitrary-shaped features in plate bending

摘要

The objective of this paper is to introduce an efficient numerical scheme to compute the topological sensitivity (TS) of arbitrary-shaped features in plate bending. The proposed method captures the first-order change in quantities of interest (example: plate compliance) when an arbitrary-shaped feature is created within a plate. Both the theory and algorithms are provided to rapidly compute the feature-specific TS for the classic Kirchhoff-Love plate models. An important application of the proposed method is in design exploration/optimization wherein a designer can explore the impact of including plate features, without recourse to repeated finite element analysis. The proposed method is illustrated and validated through numerical experiments.