Multi–materials topology optimization using deep neural network for coupled thermo–mechanical problems.

In this paper, a density-based topology optimization method using neural networks is used to design domains composed of multi-materials under combined thermo–mechanical loading. The neural network produces the topology density field by minimizing a loss function defined for the problem. Length scale control is conducted using a Fourier space projection. JAX, a high-performance automatic differentiation (AD) Python library is used to build an end-to-end differentiable neural network. The model can handle the sensitivity analysis automatically using the backpropagation process (automatic differentiation of loss function) and the need for solving adjoint equations manual sensitivity analysis is removed. The optimization problem is solved by minimizing the loss function of the network and other optimization algorithms such as the Method of Moving Asymptotes (MMA) are not required. The performance of the method is demonstrated through several examples and compared with those obtained from the popular Solid Isotropic Material with Penalization (SIMP) method. The network is able to handle high-resolution re-sampling, resulting in a more refined and smooth variation of optimal topologies. • A neural network-based topology optimization (TO) method is proposed. • The method is intended for multi-material domains under combined loading. • The NN utilizes JAX for automatic sensitivity analysis. • The loss function of the NN is minimized to solve the TO problem. • The method's effectiveness is demonstrated through examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]