Author(s)

B. Kost & B. Baumann

Abstract

Building up structures by means of stochastic topology optimization B. Kost & B. Baumann Department of Mechanical Engineering and Production, University of Applied Sciences Hamburg, Germany Abstract Topology optimization is of significant importance to the design of truss- and gril- lagelike structures. Conventional topology optimization procedures are usually based on the ground structure approach. Starting from highly connected struc- tures the uneconomical links are eliminated during the course of optimization. In this paper we show that, additionally, stochastic methods offer the possibility to build up structures starting from simple initial configurations with few elements. Stochastic optimization methods (simulated annealing, evolutionary algo- rithms, random cost method) are applied to the topology design problem on the basis of appropriate local structure variations. Results and performance compar- isons are given. 1 Introduction The design of mechanical stru

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