Open Access

ARTICLE

Level Set Topology Optimization with Autonomous Hole Formation Using Material Removal Scheme of SIMP

Fei Wu¹, Ziyang Zeng^1,2, Kunliang Xie¹, Yuqiang Liu¹, Jiang Ding^1,2,3,*

1 Guangxi Key Laboratory of New Energy Vehicle Power Battery and Green Powertrain Domain, School of Mechanical Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530004, China
2 Guangxi Academy of Artificial Intelligence, Nanning, 530021, China
3 State Key Laboratory of Featured Metal Materials and Life-Cycle Safety for Composite Structures, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530004, China

* Corresponding Author: Jiang Ding. Email:

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Topology Optimization: Theory, Methods, and Engineering Applications)

Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences 2025, 145(2), 1689-1710. https://doi.org/10.32604/cmes.2025.071256

Received 03 August 2025; Accepted 26 September 2025; Issue published 26 November 2025

Abstract

The level set method (LSM) is renowned for producing smooth boundaries and clear geometric representations, facilitating integration with CAD environments. However, its inability to autonomously generate new holes during optimization makes the results highly dependent on the initial design. Although topological derivatives are often introduced to enable hole nucleation, their conversion into effective shape derivatives remains challenging, limiting topological evolution. To address this, a level set topology optimization method with autonomous hole formation (LSM-AHF) is proposed, integrating the material removal mechanism of the SIMP (Solid Isotropic Material with Penalization) method into the LSM framework. First, an initial structure is generated by adjusting the judgment threshold, and a binary thresholding algorithm is subsequently employed to obtain a clear and well-defined geometry. The structural boundaries of this geometry are then identified and used to construct a signed distance field, which serves as the initial level set function. To ensure smooth transitions across material interfaces and enhance numerical stability, Gaussian filtering is subsequently applied to the distance field. Numerical results demonstrate that LSM-AHF effectively enables hole nucleation without manual initialization and improves topology change, addressing the respective limitations of conventional LSM and SIMP methods.

---

Keywords

---