Computationally Efficient Data-Driven Topology Design Independent from High-Infoentropy Initial Dataset

TL;DR

This paper introduces an efficient, sensitivity-free data-driven topology design framework that operates effectively from low-information initial datasets, reducing computational costs and dependence on high-entropy data in complex nonlinear problems.

Contribution

It proposes a novel mesh-independent mutation module and a rapid structure identification algorithm to enhance efficiency and independence from high-entropy initial datasets in topology optimization.

Findings

Successfully applied to nonlinear stress problems

Outperforms sensitivity-based topology optimization

Handles non-differentiable constraints in microfluidic and shell design

Abstract

Topology optimization (TO) has been widely adopted in engineering design; however, it is prone to being trapped in local optima, particularly in strongly nonlinear problems. Sensitivity-free data-driven topology design (DDTD) offers a promising alternative. Nevertheless, existing DDTD-based methods still depend heavily on prior information or sensitivity-based TO methods for initialization, limiting their generality and independence in engineering applications. In this study, an efficient DDTD-based framework capable of being driven from low information-entropy initial datasets is proposed while improving computational efficiency. To reduce the dependence on high information-entropy initial datasets, a mesh-independent mutation module is introduced as a supplementary source of geometric features, enabling stable exploration under low information-entropy initialization. To alleviate the computational bottleneck in DDTD, where all candidate structures require numerical evaluations, a non-AI-based rapid identification algorithm is developed to efficiently identify potential high-performance structures, thereby significantly reducing the number of expensive high-fidelity simulations. The framework generates material distributions on body-fitted meshes to maintain consistency between numerical simulations and physical manufacturing. A signed distance field-based minimum length constraint is further incorporated to ensure reliable mesh generation. Numerical experiments on strongly nonlinear stress-related problems, together with comparisons with sensitivity-based TO methods, demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. In microfluidic reactor and shell design problems involving non-differentiable constraints, the proposed method successfully addresses scenarios that remain challenging for both sensitivity-based TO and conventional DDTD-based methods.