Research Area Design - D2:TopoShapeOpt

Advanced anisotropic topology and shape optimization methods for CoDiCoFRP with a focus on variations and robust behavior
Advisors: Albers (IPEK), Johrendt (UoW)


Composite structures made of fiber-reinforced plastics enable light and stiff structures. Their mechanical behavior strongly depends on the distribution and orientation of the reinforcing fibers in the polymer matrix. Both of them are influenced by the parameters of the manufacturing process, e.g. injection or compression molding, and the components geometry.

At IPEK a holistic approach is developed for the optimization of CoDiCoFRP materials, considering manufacturing conditions and restrictions as well as realistic, inhomogeneous, anisotropic material properties, which is only possible by cooperating closely with the IRTG partners in the fields of simulation, design and technology (ITM, FAST, wbk, UWO, UoW). Therefore the most important goal is to link topology optimization iteratively with the simulation of the manufacturing process to integrate the expected fiber orientations and distribution into the design process (Fig. 1). Variations of the material properties are taken into account in stochastic approaches in order to improve the robustness of the system (Fig. 2). The consideration of spatially varying material properties in stochastic modeling approaches, as well as of manufacturing restrictions, allows a far more precise description and prediction of the composite part's structural behavior than is possible today.
 

Fig. 1: Topology optimization with simulated fiber orientation
 

Fig. 2: Fibre orientation and varying material properties