A geometry projection method for the topology optimization of additively manufactured variable-stiffness composite laminates

Continuous fiber fused filament fabrication (CF4) is a layer-by-layer additive manufacturing technique that deposits continuous fiber fused filaments (CFFFs) with a significant in-plane variation of the fiber trajectory, thereby offering great flexibility in fabricating variable-stiffness composite laminates (VSCLs). We introduce a topology optimization method for the design of additively manufactured VSCLs made of overlapping, fiber-reinforced bars. The proposed method is based on geometry projection (GP) techniques, whereby the bars are represented by high-level geometric primitives. As in other GP techniques, this high-level parameterization is mapped onto a fixed structured finite element mesh for conducting analysis, as in density-based topology optimization techniques. However, unlike previous GP techniques that have demonstrated their applicability in designing structures as assemblies of individual fiber-reinforced components, this work focuses on the design of composite structures that adhere to CF4 manufacturing processes. Therefore, we first formulate a material interpolation scheme that better captures the stiffness at the composite’s joints obtained from bar overlaps as a stack. Second, the proposed material interpolation employs composite laminate theory to capture the in-plane and out-of-plane behavior of the structure. Third, to produce designs that conform to the CF4 process, we also proposed a novel length constraint formulation in the form of penalization on the projection scheme, which ensures a minimum length for all the bars. This minimum length limit does not require adding a constraint to the optimization problem. The efficacy and efficiency of the proposed method are demonstrated by a series of compliance minimization problems with in-plane and/or out-of-plane loading. The methodology is also applied to the design of a displacement inverter compliant mechanism. • A method for optimizing variable-stiffness composite laminates (VSCLs) is proposed. • The method ensures the manufacturability of VSCLs using fused filament fabrication. • A material model captures the in-plane and out-of-plane behavior of bar overlaps. • The effective behavior of the VSCLs is modeled using composite laminate theory. • A minimum length is imposed on the reinforced bars to ensure manufacturability.