Topology optimization for particle trajectory control considering particle-rigid wall contact

Abstract

This research develops a new topology optimization scheme for controlling the trajectory of particles considering contacts between particles and structure. Existing density-based topology optimization schemes struggle with accounting for particle-rigid wall contact because of the discontinuous behavior and the non-smooth shape of topological design. To solve these challenging issues, this research introduces a new particle-rigid wall contact model and its application method for topology optimization. In addition, new constraints to manipulate the trajectories of a particle enabling it to pass through or avoid a specific point are developed. The sensitivity of an objective function related to the particle trajectory is derived by the adjoint approach. Several optimization examples are considered to demonstrate the ability to control the particle trajectories while accounting for the phenomena of the particle-rigid wall contact.