Recent advances and future trends in exploring Pareto-optimal topologies and additive manufacturing oriented topology optimization

Abstract

Topology optimization (TO) is a powerful technique capable of finding the optimal layout of material and connectivity within a design domain. However, designs obtained by TO are usually geometrically complex. Such complex designs cannot be fabricated easily by conventional manufacturing methods. Therefore, additive manufacturing (AM), a free-form manufacturing technique, is extensively coupled with TO. Like most techniques, AM has its own limitations. Consequently, a range of additive manufacturing oriented topology optimization (AM oriented TO) algorithms were proposed to generate the topologies suitable for AM. Due to existing trade-orelationships in AM oriented TO, investigating multi-objective AM oriented TO seems essential to obtain more practical solutions. This paper provides a review on the recent developments of MOTO, AM oriented TO, and trade-off relationships that exist in AM oriented TO. This review paper also discusses the challenges and future trends in these topics. It is hoped that this review paper could inspire both academics and engineers to make a contribution towards bridging together MOTO and AM. 2020 the Author(s), licensee AIMS Press.