Thermo-elastic topology optimization of continuum structures subjected to load allocation constraints

This paper is aimed to develop a load allocation topology optimization approach to meet the design requirement of thermo-elastic structures in engineering practice. To formulate the optimization problem, load allocation constraint is proposed by constraining the ratio of considered reaction forces to a proper range. The average displacement at the prescribed region is taken as the objective function. Based on the adjoint method, sensitivity analyses of the average displacement and the load allocation constraint are carried out and used in combination with the gradient-based algorithm. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the validity of the proposed approach. Comparisons are made with solutions of standard topology optimization to highlight the coupling effect between the load allocation constraint and the temperature field.