Fixed grid finite element analysis in evolutionary structural optimisation

1. Abstract Today’s busy and competitive environment of the engineering industry demands structural optimisation methods to be faster and more practical. Even though the development of technology increases computational power and speed, an optimisation process typically takes hours and sometimes even days for more practical problems due to its iterative nature. This paper introduces a faster and improved structural optimisation method by combining Fixed Grid Finite Element Analysis (FG FEA) and Evolutionary Structural Optimisation (ESO). ESO optimises a structure by removing a few elements at each iteration. Hence the implementation of Fixed Grid (FG) into the ESO process eliminates the need for regenerating the mesh and a few arithmetic calculations replace the full regeneration of the stiffness matrix every time the structure is modified. This greatly reduces the solution time, and the examples demonstrate and validate the method.