A review of homogenization and topology opimization II—analytical and numerical solution of homogenization equations

This is the second part of a three-paper review of homogenization and topology optimization. In the first paper, we focused on the theory and derivation of the homogenization equations. In this paper, motives for using the homogenization theory for topological structural optimization are briefly explained. Different material models are described and the analytical solution of the homogenization equations for the so called “rank laminate composites” is presented. The finite element formulation is explained for the material model, based on a miscrostructure consisting of an isotropic material with rectangular voids. Using the periodicity assumption, the boundary conditions are derived and the homogenization equations are solved, and the results to be used in topology optimization are presented. The third paper deals with the use of homogenization for structural topology optimization by using optimality criteria methods.