Proceedings of the 2013 IEEE 17th International Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work in Design

SIMP based Topology Optimization of a Folding

Wing with Mixed Design Variables
Xiaohui Wang1

Zhiwei Lin

School of Astronautics
Beijing University of Aeronautics
and Astronautics
Beijing, 100191, China
xhwang@buaa.edu.cn

China Great Wall Industry

Corporation
Beijing, 100054, China

I.

design;

topology

INTRODUCTION

Structural optimization uses the computer to automatically

find the optimal structural size or shape and topological form
based on modern mechanical and mathematical numerical
method, under the condition of the specified design conditions
(such as displacement, stress, dynamic of structural
characteristic requirements)[1].. Structural optimization has
been widely applied in aeronautics, astronautics, shipbuilding
and other fields. Usually structural optimization was divided
into three levels according to the variable type: sizing
optimization, shape optimization and topology optimization[2],
respectively corresponding to three different design stages:
detailed design stage, basic design stage and conceptual design
stage.

II.

SOLID ISOTROPIC MATERIAL WITH PENALIZATION

Topology optimization is introduced by Maxwell to analyze

the minimum weight truss under the stress constraints in 1954.
In 1964, Dorn proposed the ground structure method bringing
numerical methods into the field of topology optimization. In
1988, Bendsoe and Kikuchi proposed Homogenization Method
and create a new situation for topology optimization of
continuum structures.
The idea of Solid Isotropic Microstructure with
Penalization (SIMP) method is first proposed by Bendsoe
under different names, for intermediate densities. SIMP was
developed by Zhou and Rozvany independently. SIMP is a
technique for topology optimization of overwhelming
advantages. SIMP is currently the most popular finite element
based topology optimization method for composite continua.
SIMP usually treats element relative density as design

Structural topology optimization is one of the frontier

topics of the structural optimization, improving the topological
form of the structure can greatly improve the performance of
the structure and reduce the weight of the structure. According
to the research object, topology optimization can be divided

978-1-4673-6085-2/13/$31.00 2013 IEEE

School of Astronautics
Beijing University of Aeronautics
and Astronautics
Beijing, 100191, China

into topology optimization of discrete structures (such as truss,

rigid frame, strengthening tendon-plate and other framework
structure) and topology optimization of continuum structures
(such as 2D plate and shell, 3D solid)[3].The topology
optimization of continuum structures has been studied more in
the recent years, and has been applied in many project fields,
such as missile and aircraft structure design[2][3][4][5].
Many scholars put forward to combine the topology
variables and the size or shape variables of optimization to
solve project problems, such as the optimization design of
wing structural layout and so on, under decomposition strategy
[6][7] (Topology variables are optimized before size or shape
variables) or coordinating optimization strategy[2] (All kinds
of variables are optimized at the same time). But
decomposition strategy may limit the design space, so
collaborative optimization is more likely to find possible better
design[8].
The rest of the paper is organized as follows: in Section II,
the Solid Isotropic Microstructure with Penalization method is
briefly discussed. The optimization method used in the design
is given In Section III. The detailed design procedure for a
folding wing design is shown in Section IV, followed by
conclusions.

AbstractA several cycles of design-verification-modification

are needed during traditional design, which is very timeconsuming. Topology optimization is rapidly expanding in the
recent years in the field of structural mechanics. Currently it is
widely applied to structural design. The combination of topology
optimization and sizing and/or shape optimization has been
adopted for flight vehicle structural design, which results possible
better designs. In the paper, continuum structural topology
optimizations as well as size optimization are combined for a
folding wing structural design. A structure optimization problem
is established using Solid Isotropic Material with Penalization
(SIMP) method, it consists of the thickness variable of the skin
and the relative element density variables of the tip part of the
folding wing. The design objective is to minimize the compliance
of the whole structure, and the constraints are structural mass
constraints and stress constraints. The problem was solved based
on commercial software package HyperWorksTM. The resulting
design shows that a new tip structure which satisfies the
requirements of stiffness and strength was reconstructed.
Keywordsfolding wing; structural
optimization; optimization method

Renwei Xia

417

variables, and then transforms integer optimization problem

from 0 to 1 into a problem of continuous variable
optimization.
The most popular interpolation model in SIMP is density
- stiffness power time relationship model (SIMP interpolation
model), namely the relationship between element elastic
modulus and element density is exponential
E = xip E0

3) Design sensitivity analysis.

4) Use the sensitivity information to establish
approximation model to solve approximation optimization
problem and update the design variables.
5) Return to 1).
The flow chart of the above optimization process is shown below.

where xi is the relative density of element (0xi1), and p is

penalty factor, and E0 and E are elastic modulus before and
after penalty respectively. By setting a penalty factor p more
than 1 (penalty factor is valued from 3 to 5), one can penalize
the stiffness matrix of intermediate density element, so that to
reduce the number of intermediate density element, to obtain
the approximated discrete design.
In addition to SIMP interpolation model, there is Rational
Approximation of Material Properties (RAMP) interpolation
model, which admits the following expression:

E=

xi
E0
1 + p (1 xi )

Note that RAMP interpolation model can achieve a similar

penalty result to SIMP interpolation model.

III.

OPTIMIZATION METHOD

There are many optimization methods available to solve

topology optimization problem, such as Optimality Criteria
(OC), Mathematics Programming (MP), Genetic Algorithm
(GA) and some other simulating biology intelligent
algorithms. The sequence planning of mathematical
programming method, such as Sequence Linear Programming
(SLP), Sequential Quadratic Programming (SQP) and
Sequence Convex Programming (SCP) and so on, is combined
with approximate problems of structural optimization at
present. It has been widely applied in solving the problem of
topology optimization because of its high efficiency and
accuracy. A general structural optimization problem can be
expressed as:
Find

Min

s.t.

X = { x1 , x2 ," , xn }
f (X )
g j (X ) < 0
xiL xi xiU


Figure. 1. The process flow of the optimization

It needs sensitivity analysis while establishing the explicit

approximation model of the problem (1). For the finite
element equation, it meets:
KU = P
Where K is the stiffness matrix, and U is the element node
displacement vector, and P is element node load vector.
Calculate the partial derivative to the design variables X
of both sides:

(1)
j = 1," m
i = 1," n

K
U P
U+K
=
X
X X

where X is the design variables, and n is the number of design

variables, and
and
are the lower limit and upper limit of
xi, and f(x) is objective function, and gi(x) is the constraint
function of structural character, and m is the number of
constraints.
We adopt the mathematical programming with
approximation problems to solve the optimization problem (1).
The detailed steps are given as follows [9]:
1) Finite element based method to analyze corresponding
physical problem.
2) Convergence judgment.

U
P K
= K 1 (
U)
X
X X

The general constraint functions of structural feature g(x)

can be described as the functions of displacement vector U:

g ( X ) = QT U
So the sensitivity of the constraint function is:

418

structure mass, stiffness and strength is stricter than that of

non-folding design. The conventional design method is usually
based on the engineers experiences, by means of a several of
cycles, i.e. design -- verification -- revision, and finally a
structural design is obtained to meet all the design
requirements. This method, however, is very time consuming,
and also requires the designers have certain design
experiences. Here we adopt the topology optimization for the
folding wing structural concept design, in order to obtain the
structural arrangement form owning the best path of force
transfer. It is significant for the structural design of the aircraft
which can effectively shorten the design period. With the
development of computer technology, several software
packages are available to aid the structural topology design,
for example, OptiStruct by Altair.
Figure 2 shows a folding wing structure and mechanism,
we can find there are folding mechanism and locking
mechanism inside of wing root; When wing surface unfolds to
the unfolding state from folding state, the locking mechanism
begins to work, pushes a locking part to the connectors to
connect the wing root with the connectors, so that the wing
surface will be locked in the unfolding state. Wing tip, wing
root and the connectors are all made of titanium alloy, while
supporting shaft and locking part are made of 45Cr. According
to the requirement of design, the weight of wing tip cannot be
more than 3 kg, and the maximum displacement of the tip
cannot be more than 4.5 mm.

g Q
U Q
P K
=
U + QT
=
U + Q T K 1 (
U)
X
X
X
X
X X
Solving the optimization problem by using the above
method directly is known as the direct method which is
applicable to the optimization problems with a large number
of constraints but with relatively few variables, such as the
sensitivity problems of the shape optimization and the size
optimization. For the optimization problems with few
constraints but a large number of variables, such as topology
optimization, it is prefer to adopt another method where the so
called adjoint variable E is introduced, and E meets the
constraint as follows:
KE = Q

So the sensitivity of the constraint function reads as:

g QT
P K
=
U + ET (
U)
X
X
X X

Once the sensitivity of structure response is obtained, one

needs to conduct the Taylor expansion for the structure
response by means of one of the following approximation
methods:
Linear approximation:
n

g j

i =0

xi

g j ( X ) = g j 0 +

( xi - xi 0 )

Inversion approximation:
n

g j

i =0

xi

g j ( X ) = g j 0 -
Convex approximation:

xi20 (

g j

i =0

xi

g j ( X ) = g j 0 +

1 1
)
xi xi 0

cij ( xi - xi 0 )

Where
g

when j 0
1,
xi

cij =
g j
xi 0
<0
when
xi
xi
In addition, there are other methods to establish the
approximation model, such as the secondary multipoint
approximation method[10], the response surface method and
neural network method etc.
For the explicit approximation problem, we can apply
feasible direction method (CONMIN) and the dual method
(CONLIN).

IV.

Figure. 2. The folding wing structure and mechanism

OPTIMIZATION DESIGN OF A FOLDING WING

A folding wing is a design feature of aircraft to reduce

the size, save space, increase the carrying capability of
vehicles [11]. Due to the specialty of the structure and
mechanism of this kind of aircraft, the requirement of the

Figure. 3. The finite element model of the folding wing

419

where mtip is the weight of the wing tip, m is element Mises

stress, uk is the mode of the six nodes displacement (The six
nodes are in the front or the outer margin edge of the wing tip,
circled in Figure 2).
We established the optimization model according to the
expression (2) in HyperMesh, treating the relative density of
the node in wing tip and the skin thickness as design variables.
The skin thickness varies from 0.1 mm (tL) to 3 mm (tU). And
penalty factor p is set to 3, defining the stripper constraint in
the normal direction of the wing surface. Finally we adopt
optimization solver OptiStruct to solve the problem.

We established the finite element model of the folding

wing based on HyperMesh, solid is made of tetrahedron
element, while plate is made of triangular element. Because
the force between two parts is transferred through the
interface, so we need to define the contact between two parts
to simulate the unfolding state of the folding wing accurately,
Figure 3 provided the finite element model of the folding
wing. Every node of the wing root bottom has been restrained
of three degrees of translational freedom, and the equivalent
uniformly distributed pressure imposed on the wing surface
pressure is 0.15 Mpa.
In this article, the wing tip will be treated as the
topological design area in concept design, while the skin
thickness of outer surface in the wing tip will be treated as a
design variable. We combined the topology variables with
sizing variables, and then optimized them at the same time, in
order to obtain the optimal structure form inside of wing tip
and the optimal outer skin thickness, thus we obtained the
optimal monolithic structure. As for the structural design of
the wing tip, we adopt SIMP to establish a structural
optimization problem that contains topology variables and
skin thickness variable, it can be described in mathematical
form as follows:
Find

Min

s.t.

X = { x1 , x2 ," , xn , t}
f (X )

g j(X ) 0
0 xi 1

Figure. 4.

(2)
j = 1," m
i = 1," n

We obtain the optimal topology form of wing tip after an

iterative with 17 steps, the last step of the optimization
iteration meets the constraints. Figure 4 provides the Get the
optimal element relative density distribution of the wing tip
structure, namely the materials distribution of the structure.
We can easily find that the number of the node with middle
density is few, the material distribution has obvious limits, and
it is advantageous to transform the result into an actual
structure. The optimal skin thickness is 1.901 mm, rounded to
be 1.9 mm.
We redesigned the wing tip structure according to the
obtained optimal topology form. We removed the materials of
intermediate density, and simplified the optimal topology
solution to adjust to the requirements of machining, and
considered the structure support the wing surface to meet the
requirements of aerodynamic shape. Figure 5 shows the
profile structure of wing tip according to the optimal topology
design. The skin thickness of the surface is 1.9 mm. The
weight of the wing tip is 2.994 kg after removing some
material inside according to the topology form, satisfying the
requirement of structural weight.
We re-establish the model of the wing tip structure
according to the topology optimization results, and analyze to
verify the stiffness and strength of the wing structure. All the
parts are made of tetrahedron element, and the loading
condition is same as that in optimization design. Figure 6
provides the displacement nephogram of the folding wing
under the uniformly distributed pressure according to the static
analysis. We can find that the maximum displacement of wing
tip is 4.361 mm meeting the requirement of stiffness; Figure 7

t L t tU

where X is continuous variable, and xi is the topology variable,

i.e. element relative density, and n is the number of
topological variables, and t is the skin thickness variable of
outer surface, and tL and tU is the lower and upper limit of the
thickness respectively, and f(x) is the optimization objective
function, which means the strain energy of the structure,
shown in equation (3), and gi(x) is the constraint of structural
feature, and m is the number of constraints, including the
structural weight, element stress and the node displacement,
shown in the expression (4).
f (X ) =

1 T
1
1 N
F U = U T KU = uiT ki ui
2
2
2 i =1
N n
1 n p T
= ( xi ui k0ui + uiT ki ui )
2 i =1
i =1

Optimal topology form of the structure

(3)

where, f(x) is the total strain energy of the structure, namely

flexibility, and F and U is the node force and displacement
vector of the finite element respectively, and K is the total
stiffness matrix before optimization, and N is total number of
the structural elements, ki is the element stiffness matrix, and
k0 is the element stiffness matrix without penalty in topology
design area.
mtip 3.2kg

(4)
m = 1," , n
m 1070Mpa
u 4mm
k = 1," , 6
k

420

provides the vonMises stress nephogram of the folding wing

under the uniformly distributed pressure. We can find that the
maximum stress is 875.5 Mpa, located in the interface between
the wing tip and the wing root, it is within the strength limit
and owns a great safety margin. The structure is safe.

V.

CONCLUSIONS

In this the work, we have applied the structural topology

optimization method to the folding wing tip structure design.
We have obtained the optimal topology form from finite
element based topological optimization, which provides a
reference for the design of the wing tip structure. The adopted
method treats the skin thickness as the design variables, and
optimizes the design variables and the wing tip topology
simultaneously. It improves the degree of freedom for the
design and helps the designer to obtain a better structure form.
The method can be applied to the design of similar structure,
such as the wing and the fuselage of aircraft, treating the skin
size variables of the wing and the fuselage as design variables
to the topology optimization during the conceptual design
stage. Application of this method to such a topology
optimization with mixed design variables will bring more
prominent effect.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This work is supported by the Fundamental Research Funds
for the China Central Universities under grant No.YWF-12LZGF-101.

Figure. 5. Profile structure in the optimal topology design

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Figure 6. The displacement nephogram of the folding wing under the

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Figure. 7. The von Mises stress nephogram of the folding wing under the
uniformly distributed pressure

According to the above results, we found that the designed

structure under the optimal topology form meets the
requirements of weight, stiffness and strength.

421