Continuum Sensitivity Method for Reliability-Based Structural Design and Optimization*

The objective of this study is to examine two analytical methods for the design sensitivity analysis of optimal control problems and to develop the analyses necessary for the application of the methods to thermal systems. The two methods are the direct differentiation method and the adjoint variable method. Results for these methods are compared with those obtained using central finite difference approximations for design sensitivity analysis. The adjoint variable method has the potential to reduce significantly computational times for design sensitivity analysis while sacrificing only a small amount of accuracy. As the number of functional requiring design sensitivity analysis increases, however, the adjoint variable method becomes less attractive and the direct differentiation method becomes more attractive.

A parameter optimization method based on sensitivity analysis is presented for the structural optimization of variable section slender manipulator. Structure mechanism of a polishing robot is introduced firstly, and its stiffness model is established. Then, a design sensitivity analysis method and a sequential liner programming (SLP) strategy are proposed. In the beginning of the optimization, the design sensitivity analysis method can be used to select the sensitive design variables which can make the optimized results more efficient and accurate. And then, it can be used to improve the convergence during the process of the optimization. The design sensitivities are calculated using the finite difference method. The search for the final optimal structure is performed using the SLP method. Simulation results show that the structure optimization method is effective to enhance the stiffness of the manipulator, no matter when the manipulator suffers constant force or variable force. This work lays a theoretical foundation for the structural optimization for such manipulators.

A state space design sensitivity analysis and optimization method is presented in which problems of optimal design of machines are formulated in a setting that allows treatment of general design objectives and constraints. Synthesis of machines to perform both kinematic and kinetic functions is considered. A Cartesian coordinate formulation is employed for position, velocity, acceleration, and force analysis. An adjoint variable technique is employed to compute derivatives with respect to design of general cost and constraint functions that involve kinematic, force, and design variables. Linearization (or sequential quadratic programming) and gradient projection optimization algorithms are employed, using the design sensitivity analysis method developed, for design optimization. Four optimal design problems are solved to demonstrate use of the method.

Topology design optimization of structures at high frequencies using power flow analysis

In this paper, continuum-based sizing and configuration design sensitivity analysis (DSA) and optimization methods using the established transient dynamic analysis code DYNA3D are developed. For transient dynamic analysis, the explicit central difference method is used. For the structural domain, the updated Lagrangian formulation is used since it is appropriate for the path dependent problem. The first-order variations of the kinetic energy form, strain energy form, load form, and kinematic and structural responses with respect to the sizing and configuration design variables are derived. For the updated Lagrangian formulation, the design velocity field that defines the mapping between the initial and perturbed designs is updated at each updated configuration. The direct differentiation method is used in this paper for DSA. Numerical implementation of sizing DSA, configuration DSA, and optimization of a vehicle frame and A-pillar models has been carried out using the nonlinear finite element analysis (FEA) code DYNA3D.

ACOMPUTATIONAL method for design sensitivity analysis of an eigenvalue and an eigenvector of a beam under nonlinear forced vibration is presented in this paper. The nonlinear vibration problem is only analyzed once in the proposed method. The geometric nonlinearity of concern results from the large deflection of a beam. The finite element system equation for nonlinear vibration is symmetric. However, it is found that the equation for computing the design sensitivity of an eigenvector is linear and unsymmetric. A numerical example is included to validate the proposed computational procedure. Contents The nonlinear vibrations studied herein refer to the periodic (though not necessarily harmonic) and stable motions of a nonlinear system. Recently, Hou and Yuan1 addressed the design sensitivity analysis of eigenvalues and eigenvectors of a beam under nonlinear free vibration. In that paper, the longitudinal inertia was not considered in the nonlinear vibration formulation, so that the problem could be expressed in terms of the lateral deflection alone. In the present work the design sensitivity analysis has been extended successfully to a nonlinear forced vibration problem whose formulation includes the in-plane inertia and displacement. The variational formulation2 for the nonlinear forced vibrations of beams under harmonic excitation is given as

Explicit and implicit methods for design sensitivity analysis of nonlinear structures subjected to transient dynamic loads are described. The direct differentiation method is used to calculate the sensitivities. Elastic and elasto-plastic problems undergoing large deformation are treated in the formulation. The explicit method is quite straightforward to implement for analysis as well as design sensitivity analysis: knowing all the quantities at time t, one updates the quantities for the next time point without solution of any linear system of equations, or any iterations. For the implicit method, the effective stiffness matrix for the sensitivity equation is different from that for the analysis phase due to inclusion of large deformation in the formulation. A numerical procedure to integrate the equation is proposed which uses the symmetric effective stiffness matrix from the analysis phase. Although the sensitivity analysis problem is linear, the procedure requires iterations for sensitivity calculations at each time step, as for the analysis phase. The implicit method is implemented using the pre-conditioned conjugate gradient iterative solution scheme. Numerical results for sensitivities indicate the implicit method to be more accurate than the explicit method for transient elastoplastic problems. However, the explicit method is substantially more efficient than the implicit method.

Sensitivity analysis of eigenmodes and dynamic responses for intelligent structures

Design sensitivity analysis and optimization for nonlinear buckling of finite-dimensional elastic conservative structures

Design sensitivity analysis (DSA) and topology design optimization methods forpiezoelectric resonators are developed. The governing equations for piezoelectric vibrationproblems are the Cauchy’s equation of motion and the charge equation of electrostatics. AMindlin plate theory using higher-order interpolations along the thickness direction that iseffective for the thickness-shear vibration analysis of piezoelectric resonators is used. Anoptimal design problem is formulated to maximize the electromechanical coupling strengthat the mode of interest. Necessary design gradients for eigenvalue problems are computedvery efficiently and accurately using an analytical DSA method with an eigenvectorexpansion concept. A robust mode-tracking method based on thickness-shear strain energyis proposed to precisely identify the thickness-shear mode at high frequencies.Through demonstrative numerical examples, the DSA method developed is verifiedto show excellent efficiency and agreement compared with the finite differencemethod. It is observed that the frequencies are almost invariant even though the sizeand shape of the crystal varies significantly. However, it is observed that theoptimal topology is sensitive to the aspect ratio even if the thicknesses are thesame.

Design sensitivity analysis for transient response of non-viscously damped systems based on direct differentiate method

Isogeometric configuration design sensitivity analysis of geometrically exact shear-deformable beam structures

Based on the reliability-based design theory and sensitivity analysis method, the reliability-based sensitivity design of beam structure with non-normal distribution parameters is extensively researched and a numerical method for reliability-based sensitivity design is presented. The variation regularities of reliability sensitivity are obtained and the effects of design parameters on reliability of beam structure are studied. The method presented in this paper provided the theoretic basis for the reliability-based design of beam structure with non-normal distribution parameters.

The author’s method of design sensitivity analysis of nonlinear coincident buckling load factors and corresponding optimization method of finite dimensional elastic structures are shown to be applicable to a structure with moderately large number of degrees of freedom. The sensitivity formulations are written in general form for coincident buckling load factors including limit points and bifurcation points. Optimum designs are found for a spherical latticed dome subjected to a concentrated load and distributed loads, respectively. The results are compared with those by linear eigenvalue formulation. An approximate optimal solution against nonlinear buckling can be obtained by only scaling the solution under linear eigenvalue formulation even for the case where the effect of prebuckling deformation is very large. It is shown that the proposed method is practically applicable to optimum design with coincident critical points especially for the case of hill-top branching where bifurcation points are located at the limit point. In this case, imperfection sensitivity is not enhanced as a result of optimization. The reduction of maximum load factor due to a minor imperfection is shown to be in the same order as that to a major imperfection. Therefore symmetric imperfection as well as asymmetric imperfection should be considered in estimating the maximum loads.

Design sensitivity analysis and topology optimization of displacement–loaded non-linear structures