Topology optimization of the support structure for heat dissipation in additive manufacturing

Abstract: A support structure is required to successfully create structural parts in the powder bed fusion process for additive manufacturing. In this study, we present the topology optimization of a support structure that improves the heat dissipation in the building process. First, we construct a numerical method that obtains the temperature field in the building process, represented by the transient heat conduction phenomenon with the volume heat flux. Next, we formulate an optimization problem for maximizing heat dissipation and develop an optimization algorithm that incorporates a level-set-based topology optimization. A sensitivity of the objective function is derived using the adjoint variable method. Finally, several numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness and validity of the proposed method.