Integrated process for structural–topological configuration design of weight-reduced vehicle components

Due to the speedy development trends of design stages, the material distributions and geometric configurations in view of the weight-reduction design of structures are the details taken into account from the stage of conceptual design with low cost, high performance and quality. In this point, a structural–topological configuration with a feasible design of structure is important. This paper presents the integrated process using three optimization techniques, in which the geometric boundaries and physical dimensions of the structure and material distribution of structure-configured elements are hierarchically optimized in the specifications of the maximum rigidity, plastic strain, residual deformations and lightweight.