2.5D porous structure design based on mechanical topology optimization and principal stress field

Abstract In engineering applications, 2.5D mechanical parts are widely used, and can be further optimized using porous structure to meet the requirements of high specific strength and lightweight. In this paper, a topological design methodology driven by principal stress field was proposed to realize the optimal distribution of materials while keeping the macroscopic model unchanged. The shape of pores relies on the Voronoi-Tessellation by offsetting the closed Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline (NURBS) curves. To improve the mechanical properties, information of Principal Stress Line (PSL) curves and stress values calculated from finite element analysis were fully utilized. It is expected that this work can offer some insights for Functionally Graded Porous Materials (FGPMs) design.