Session: 12-16-02: General Session

Paper Number: 66667

Start Time: Wednesday, 10:05 AM

66667 - Application of Topology Optimization to Design a Structural Panel Subjected to Blast Loading 

The purpose of this study is to apply topology optimization to design a protective underbody panel for armored combat vehicles subjected to improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The increased use of IEDs by terrorist organizations over the last two decades have led to the death of thousands of American soldiers and imposed critical damage to vehicles. There is growing interest to develop a protective panel that maximizes stiffness, absorbs blast energy, and minimizes mass. The goal is for the design to be light-weight, modular, and affordable, while preserving the lives of the vehicle occupants. As additive manufacturing capabilities improve, topology optimization enables the design of more efficient structures that are difficult to manufacture using traditional methods. In this study, topology optimization produced unique structural designs, which could be additively manufactured from a sintered Ti-6AI-4V Titanium alloy. The project focus was to develop beams of different size and shape to determine the best structural design to minimize displacement and mass. Non-linear finite element models were used to compare the performance of standard designs to optimized sections. Unlike established designs such as the Wide Flange, Hollow Structural Section (HSS), or solid sections, topology optimization uses a subtractive algorithm to ensure that every element included in the final geometry contributes to the overall stiffness of the design. Both static and dynamic analysis were conducted to compare the performance of the established sections and optimized designs. Static studies with linear loading conditions compared maximum displacement values of each design at given optimized mass intervals. The optimized designs were highly dependent upon on the design goal formulation, such as maximizing stiffness-to-weight ratios, minimizing mass with a displacement constraint, and minimizing displacement with a mass constraint. The conceptual foundation of topology optimization is derived from internal energy, making it difficult to successfully isolate local displacement as the study goal. Optimized sections with the design goal of maximizing stiffness effectively reduced strain energy compared to an established section of equal mass, but experienced larger deflections. The designs created using topology optimization were produced for a single load case and set of boundary conditions. This decreased the versatility of optimized designs as load conditions may vary. Topology optimization can be used to increase the efficiency of standard sections by reducing the weight of the panel and the internal strain energy under loading, however the design may have a larger maximum deflection. As additive manufacturing capabilities continue to improve, topology optimization will serve as a crucial design tool for protective panels of combat vehicles or other projects which aim to minimize mass and maximize stiffness.

Presenting Author: Gillian Schiffer United States Military Academy

Authors:

Gillian Schiffer United States Military Academy
Kevin McMullen United States Military Academy
Jakob Bruhl United States Military Academy