Shape and topology optimization for elliptic boundary value problems using a piecewise constant level set method

The aim of this paper is to propose a variational piecewise constant level set method for solving elliptic shape and topology optimization problems. The original model is approximated by a two-phase optimal shape design problem by the ersatz material approach. Under the piecewise constant level set framework, we first reformulate the two-phase design problem to be a new constrained optimization problem with respect to the piecewise constant level set function. Then we solve it by the projection Lagrangian method. A gradient-type iterative algorithm is presented. Comparisons between our numerical results and those obtained by level set approaches show the effectiveness, accuracy and efficiency of our algorithm.     

Variational piecewise constant level set methods for shape optimization of a two-density drum

We apply the piecewise constant level set method to a class of eigenvalue related two-phase shape optimization problems. Based on the augmented Lagrangian method and the Lagrange multiplier approach, we propose three effective variational methods for the constrained optimization problem. The corresponding gradient-type algorithms are detailed. The first Uzawa-type algorithm having applied to shape optimization in the literature is proven to be effective for our model, but it lacks stability and accuracy in satisfying the geometry constraint during the iteration. The two other novel algorithms we propose can overcome this limitation and satisfy the geometry constraint very accurately at each iteration. Moreover, they are both highly initial independent and more robust than the first algorithm. Without penalty parameters, the last projection Lagrangian algorithm has less severe restriction on the time step than the first two algorithms. Numerical results for various instances are presented and compared with those obtained by level set methods. The comparisons show effectiveness, efficiency and robustness of our methods. We expect our promising algorithms to be applied to other shape optimization and multiphase problems.