Adopting feature resolution and material distribution constraints into topology optimisation of additive manufacturing components

Additive manufacturing (AM), known for its ability to manufacture complex shapes, is becoming an essential companion of topology optimisation (TO) to optimise the structure. However, the topology-optimised structure may result in suboptimal performance or even have features, which are difficult to manufacture in a given AM process. This study attempts to refine the outcome from TO with AM-specific considerations, such as minimum feature resolution and material continuity-related constraints by introducing a neighbourhood density function, subsequent to the solid isotropic material with penalisation approach. The four different cases have been studied to demonstrate the effectiveness of the presented approach yielding better results when compared with the conventional TO under the three-point bending test. The current study provides optimised geometry with the decreased number of voids and ensuring the minimum feature size without substantial loss in the structural behaviour and becomes the basic framework to integrate manufacturability into structural TO for the AM process.