THE CURVATURE FUNCTION-METHOD FOR 2-DIMENSIONAL SHAPE OPTIMIZATION UNDER STRESS CONSTRAINTS

The curvature function method for two-dimensional shape optimization u nder stress constraints is developed. This method uses curvatures alon g the boundary curve as the design variables. First it is shown that l ocal curvature has a monotonic relation to stress. Based on this, a ze ro-order search direction can be defined to search for the optimum cur vature function which achieves a fully stressed boundary. No sensitivi ty analysis is required, and the method is completely independent of t he analysis techniques for calculating the stress. The resulting curve has C-2 continuity if the curvature function is continuous. Three des ign examples are presented.