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Recently, topology optimization (TO) has seen increased usage in the automotive industry as a numerical tool, greatly enhancing the accessibility and production-readiness of optimal, lightweight solutions. By natural extension of classic single material TO (SMTO), a wealth of research has been completed in multi-material TO (MMTO), enabling simultaneous determination of material selection and existence. MMTO is effective for linear static analyses, making use of structural responses that are continuously differentiable, giving itself to efficient gradient-based optimization engines. A structural response that is inherently nonlinear and transient, thus providing difficulty to the mainstay MMTO process, is that of crashworthiness. This paper presents a multi-objective MMTO framework considering crashworthiness using the equivalent static load (ESL) method. The ESL method uses a series of linear static sub-models to approximate the transient crashworthiness model.

As additive manufacturing technology advances, it is becoming a more feasible option for fabricating highly complex, lightweight structures in the automotive industry. To take advantage of the improved design freedom and to reduce support structures for the selected printing orientation, components must be designed specifically for additive manufacturing. A new approach for accomplishing this process combines topology and build orientation optimization, which aims to simultaneously determine the ideal build direction and component design to maximize stiffness and reduce additive manufacturing costs. Current techniques in literature are formulated for specific categories of additive manufacturing: either methods that print on a support structure raft or print directly on the build plate. However, these two categories have very different relationships between part orientation and support structure, resulting in distinct optimal orientations for each additive manufacturing category.

The study and application of Topology Optimization (TO) has experienced great maturity in recent years, presenting itself as a highly influential and sought-after design tool in both the automotive and aerospace industries. TO has experienced development from single material topology optimization (SMTO) to multi-material topology optimization (MMTO), where material selection is simultaneously optimized with material existence. Today, MMTO for standard structural optimization responses are well supported. An additional and vital response in the design of structures is that of stress. Stress-driven or stress-controlled optimization techniques for SMTO are well understood and have been well-documented, evidenced by both published works and its availability in multiple commercial solvers. However, its integration into MMTO frameworks has not yet achieved reliable levels of accuracy and flexibility.