Stress-constrained topology optimization: a topological level-set approach

The objective of this paper is to introduce and demonstrate an algorithm for stress-constrained topology optimization. The algorithm relies on tracking a level-set defined via the topological derivative. The primary advantages of the proposed method are: (1) the stresses are well-defined at all points within the evolving topology, (2) the finite-element stiffness matrices are well-conditioned, making the analysis robust and efficient, (3) the level-set is tracked through a simple iterative process, and (4) the stress constraint is precisely satisfied at termination. The proposed algorithm is illustrated through numerical experiments in 2D and 3D.