Boundary-Layer Approach to Shape Design Sensitivity Analysis

ABSTRACT In a domain approach to shape design sensitivity analysis, shape design sensitivity is calculated by summing contributions from the entire domain. For mechanical systems with general geometries, defining design velocity field over the entire domain can be very complicated. A design boundary-layer is introduced to minimize difficulties associated with the domain approach. The design boundary-layer is a pre-selected part of the domain, near the varying boundary. A nonzero design velocity field is defined over only the design boundary-layer. The boundary-layer approach is shown to be easier to apply and more efficient to use than conventional full domain methods.