Structural Optimization with the Incremental Equivalent Static Load Method for Nonlinear Dynamic Responses

This paper presents an efficient approach for optimizing structures under dynamic impact loading conditions. We introduce an improved method called the Incremental Equivalent Static Load Method that enhances the accuracy of the original ESL method. In the original ESL method, equivalent static loads are computed based on the initial geometry and nonlinear displacement results from a nonlinear analysis software. With the Incremental ESL method, we update the stiffness matrix at selected time steps using deformations from a base time step. This enables us to compute and apply equivalent static loads based on incremental displacements for ESL loadcases, resulting in a more precise capture of geometric and material nonlinearity.