Level set-based topology optimization of micropolar solids under thermo-mechanical loading

This article proposes a novel level set-based topology optimization for micropolar solids subjected to thermo-mechanical loading. To capture the size effects, the microstructural length-scale information is incorporated into the level set-based topology optimization method by adopting a micropolar theory. The proposed non-local topology optimization method can provide accurate topology optimization for size-dependent solids under thermo-mechanical loading. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated through a few representative two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) numerical examples. The numerical results reveal the substantial influence of underlying microstructures, incorporated in the model through micropolar parameters, and temperature on topology optimization, highlighting the necessity of the proposed thermo-mechanical micropolar formulation for materials with pronounced non-local effects. For the numerical implementation of the proposed model, the open-source finite element libraries Gridap.jl and GridapTopOpt.jl, available in Julia, are used to ensure transparency and reproducibility of the reported computational results.