Lightweight Design of a Fuel Tank Stand by Means of Topology Optimization with Frequency Target

This paper presents a topological optimization for lightweight design of an experimental stand for a fuel tank. The case study is an optimization problem with a model of massive degrees of freedom and frequency target. Taking the operational environment, loads and possible shape of the supporting stand into consideration, volume is set to be a constraint in optimization whereas maximizing fundamental frequency is the objective. A specific material interpolation scheme is selected to achieve the optimization, where multiple direct and indirect design objectives are included. Structures derived from a traditional design and topology optimization are compared based on finite element analysis. Results show that the topologically optimized structure has a higher fundamental frequency than 180 Hz while keeping structure relatively light.