Evolutionary structural optimization in problems with fluid-structure interaction

• Grant number: 12/09578-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): September 01, 2012
• Effective date (End): August 31, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Mechanical Engineering - Mechanics of Solids
• Principal Investigator: Renato Pavanello
• Grantee: Renato Picelli Sanches
• Supervisor: Matthijs Langelaar
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia Mecânica (FEM). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Research place: Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), Netherlands
• Associated to the scholarship: 11/09730-6 - Evolutionary Structural Optimization in Problems of Fluid-Structure Interaction, BP.DR

Abstract

The main objective of this project is the development of a software application to analyze and design multiphysics systems with fluid-structure interaction. It is intended to develop a methodology of evolutionary optimization associated with the Finite Element Method in structural, fluidic and acoustic coupled problems. The aim is to obtain a numerical tool for topology optimization of fluid-structural systems. For this methodology, it is proposed in this work the application of the heuristic methods ESO/BESO (Evolutionary Structural Optimization/Bi-directional Evolutionary Structural Optimization) of topology optimization, considering that these evolutionary methods might be easily combined with solvers from finite element packages. The classic method SIMP will be also implemented to this kind of application and compared with the proposed evolutionary methodology. Before the implementation of these methods, a sensitivity analysis for the multiphysics problems is needed. The sensitivity analysis is the basis of the whole optimization process and encompasses the evaluation of the gradients and/or discrete derivatives from the governing equations of the considered systems. This project stage, requested in this BEPE-FAPESP application, will be carried out at the Delft University of Technology together with Prof. Dr.ir. Matthijs Langelaar. The developed models and codes of fluid dynamics will be incorporated to the fluid-structure models already implemented in the Department of Computational Mechanics (DMC) at Unicamp. (AU)