Clustering-based multiscale topology optimization of thermo-elastic lattice structures

A multiscale clustering-based topology optimization for thermo-elastic lattice structures is studied based on the extended multiscale finite element method (EMsFEM). The strain energy of thermo-elastic lattice structures is chosen as the objective function. The microstructural configuration and the macrostructural distribution of the thermo-elastic lattice material are designed through topology optimization concurrently. The K-means clustering-based method is proposed to group the microstructures of the lattice materials. The effects of the number of clusters (groups), magnitude of the thermal loads, size factor of the microstructure, and material volume fraction on the optimization results are discussed. The results show that the clustering-based multiscale design optimization is superior to the classical multiscale design optimization of lattice structures.