TY - JOUR
T1 - Prevention of enclosed voids in topology optimization using a cumulative sum flood fill algorithm
AU - van der Zwet, Joran
AU - Delissen, Arnoud
AU - Langelaar, Matthijs
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Topology optimization has seen increased interest with the rise of additive manufacturing (AM) as a fabrication method, because of its ability to exploit the geometric complexity that AM offers. However, AM still imposes some geometric restrictions on the design, most notably on minimum feature size, overhang angles, and enclosed voids. Enclosed voids are problematic because for many AM methods it is impossible to remove supports, unmelted powder or uncured liquid from them. This paper introduces a filter based on a cumulative sum flood fill algorithm to alleviate this issue in a flexible manner. This filter produces a density field where every enclosed void element is rendered solid. It successfully eliminates enclosed voids in both 2D and 3D problems, with low computational cost due to its geometric nature. In addition we demonstrate direct control over the location, amount, and size of powder removal features by varying boundary conditions for the filter, running additional flood fills, and adding morphology operators, respectively.
AB - Topology optimization has seen increased interest with the rise of additive manufacturing (AM) as a fabrication method, because of its ability to exploit the geometric complexity that AM offers. However, AM still imposes some geometric restrictions on the design, most notably on minimum feature size, overhang angles, and enclosed voids. Enclosed voids are problematic because for many AM methods it is impossible to remove supports, unmelted powder or uncured liquid from them. This paper introduces a filter based on a cumulative sum flood fill algorithm to alleviate this issue in a flexible manner. This filter produces a density field where every enclosed void element is rendered solid. It successfully eliminates enclosed voids in both 2D and 3D problems, with low computational cost due to its geometric nature. In addition we demonstrate direct control over the location, amount, and size of powder removal features by varying boundary conditions for the filter, running additional flood fills, and adding morphology operators, respectively.
KW - Additive manufacturing
KW - Connectivity
KW - Enclosed void
KW - Powder bed fusion
KW - Topology optimization
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85171557022&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.advengsoft.2023.103530
DO - 10.1016/j.advengsoft.2023.103530
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85171557022
SN - 0965-9978
VL - 186
JO - Advances in Engineering Software
JF - Advances in Engineering Software
M1 - 103530
ER -