A Systematic Study on Topology Optimization of Crash Loaded Structures using LS-TaSC

In this contribution the chances and limitations of using LS-TaSC for topology optimization of crash loaded structures will be shown. With two demonstrative examples the influence of scaled loads, intermediate densities and conflicting constraints are discussed. As no analytical sensitivities are available in explicit finite element simulations, LS-TaSC uses the interal energy density as sensitivity, which makes it an efficient optimization strategy for stiffness applications. For the provided examples, both a maximum stiffness as well as a crashworthiness design is developed. In the latter case, the multipoint method of LS-TaSC is used to cope with the acceleration of an impactor as objective function. To compare the resulting topology with other topology optimization methods, a thickness optimization of a shell interpretation is performed. The structural behavior is also compared with that of the optimized solid model.