Topology optimization has undergone a tremendous development since its introduction in the seminal paper by Bendsoe and Kikuchi in 1988. By now, the concept is developing in many different directions, including “density”, “level set”, “topological derivative”, “phase field”, “evolutionary” and several others. The paper gives an overview, comparison and critical review of the different approaches, their strengths, weaknesses, similarities and dissimilarities and suggests guidelines for future research.

Topology optimization approaches: A comparative review

This review paper provides an overview of different level-set methods for structural topology optimization. Level-set methods can be categorized with respect to the level-set-function parameterization, the geometry mapping, the physical/mechanical model, the information and the procedure to update the design and the applied regularization. Different approaches for each of these interlinked components are outlined and compared. Based on this categorization, the convergence behavior of the optimization process is discussed, as well as control over the slope and smoothness of the level-set function, hole nucleation and the relation of level-set methods to other topology optimization methods. The importance of numerical consistency for understanding and studying the behavior of proposed methods is highlighted. This review concludes with recommendations for future research.

Level-set methods for structural topology optimization: a review

We discuss recent advances on robust unfitted finite element methods on cut meshes. These methods are designed to facilitate computations on complex geometries obtained, for example, from computer- ...

CutFEM: Discretizing geometry and partial differential equations

Linear-scaling methods, or methods, have computational and memory requirements which scale linearly with the number of atoms in the system, N, in contrast to standard approaches which scale with the cube of the number of atoms. These methods, which rely on the short-ranged nature of electronic structure, will allow accurate, ab initio simulations of systems of unprecedented size. The theory behind the locality of electronic structure is described and related to physical properties of systems to be modelled, along with a survey of recent developments in real-space methods which are important for efficient use of high-performance computers. The linear-scaling methods proposed to date can be divided into seven different areas, and the applicability, efficiency and advantages of the methods proposed in these areas are then discussed. The applications of linear-scaling methods, as well as the implementations available as computer programs, are considered. Finally, the prospects for and the challenges facing linear-scaling methods are discussed.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0034-4885/75/3/036503/pdf

O(N) methods in electronic structure calculations.

https://ctflab.mae.cornell.edu/papers/Desjardins,%20Moureau,%20Pitsch.%202008.%20An%20accurate%20conservative%20level%20set-ghost%20fluid%20method%20for%20simulating%20turbulent%20atomization.pdf

An accurate conservative level set/ghost fluid method for simulating turbulent atomization

A conservative level set method for two phase flow II

A cut finite element method for a Stokes interface problem

A cut finite element method for coupled bulk-surface problems on time-dependent domains

Delta function approximations in level set methods by distance function extension

This thesis presents numerical techniques for solving problems of incompressible flow coupled to scalar transport equations using finite element discretizations in space. The two applications considered in this thesis are multi-phase flow, modeled by level set or phase field methods, and planetary mantle convection based on the Boussinesq approximation. A systematic numerical study of approximation errors in evaluating the surface tension in finite element models for two-phase flow is presented. Forces constructed from a gradient in the same discrete function space as used for the pressure are shown to give the best performance. Moreover, two approaches for introducing contact line dynamics into level set methods are proposed. Firstly, a multiscale approach extracts a slip velocity from a micro simulation based on the phase field method and imposes it as a boundary condition in the macro model. This multiscale method is shown to provide an efficient model for the simulation of contact-line driven flow. The second approach combines a level set method based on a smoothed color function with a the phase field method in different parts of the domain. Away from contact lines, the additional information in phase field models is not necessary and it is disabled from the equations by a switch function. An in-depth convergence study is performed in order to quantify the benefits from this combination. Also, the resulting hybrid method is shown to satisfy an a priori energy estimate. For the simulation of mantle convection, an implementation framework based on modern finite element and solver packages is presented. The framework is capable of running on today's large computing clusters with thousands of processors. All parts in the solution chain, from mesh adaptation over assembly to the solution of linear systems, are done in a fully distributed way. These tools are used for a parallel solver that combines higher order time and space discretizations. For treating the convection-dominated temperature equation, an advanced stabilization technique based on an artificial viscosity is used. For more efficient evaluation of finite element operators in iterative methods, a matrix-free implementation built on cell-based quadrature is proposed. We obtain remarkable speedups over sparse matrix-vector products for many finite elements which are of practical interest. Our approach is particularly efficient for systems of differential equations.

Sara Zahedi

Papers

A conservative level set method for two phase flow II

A cut finite element method for a Stokes interface problem

A cut finite element method for coupled bulk-surface problems on time-dependent domains

Delta function approximations in level set methods by distance function extension

Spurious currents in finite element based level set methods for two-phase flow