Structural topology design with multiple thermal criteria

This paper shows how the evolutionary structural optimization (ESO) algorithm can be used to achieve a multiple criterion design for a structure in a thermal environment. The proposed thermal ESO procedure couples an evolutionary iterative process of a finite element heat conduction solution and a finite element thermoelastic solution. The overall efficiency of material usage is measured in terms of the combination of thermal stress levels and heat flux densities by using a combination strategy with weighting factors. The ESO method then works by eliminating from the structural domain under-utilized material. In this paper, a practical design example of a printed circuit board substrate is presented to illustrate the capabilities of the ESO algorithm for thermal design optimization in multiple load environments.