Design tool for topology and particle damping optimization of additively manufactured parts

Thanks to its design freedom, additive manufacturing (AM) offers the possibility of directly integrating functions and effects into parts. One of these effects is particle damping, which can significantly increase the damping of parts due to the friction of loose particles in closed cavities. However, the design of these cavities is challenging due to a large number of influencing factors. This article presents a tool that optimizes the component topology and creates particle damping cavities. Using the bidirectional evolutionary structure optimization method, an optimization of mass, stiffness, and damping is achieved. The verification of the tool shows that, in addition to reducing the part mass, the integration of the particle dampers is successfully implemented in compliance with the design principles from the literature. Furthermore, restrictions of the AM process were implemented.