Thermofluid topology optimization for cooling channel design

TL;DR

This paper presents a density-based topology optimization framework for designing cooling channels in die casting molds, enabling automated, efficient heat management solutions for additive manufacturing.

Contribution

It introduces a systematic, verified approach combining techniques for optimizing cooling channels, including hyper-parameter analysis and body-fitted meshing, applicable to industrial scenarios.

Findings

Validated the optimization framework on simplified industrial cases

Analyzed the impact of hyper-parameters on design robustness

Demonstrated potential for automated cooling channel design in manufacturing

Abstract

A framework for topology optimization of cooling channels is proposed, which paves the way towards automated design of additively-manufactured cooling channels, required in applications such as the efficient heat management of die casting molds. Combining a selection of pertinent techniques and methods, the proposed density-based approach is strengthened by systematic verification and validation steps, including the body-fitted meshing of an optimized design. Furthermore, this work features applications to simplified, yet industrially-relevant cases, as well as a detailed discussion of the effects of the hyper-parameters of the optimization problem. These enable the reader to acquire a better understanding of the control and regularization mechanisms, which are necessary for a robust development towards complex scenarios.