OptiCut is a cutting-edge, parallel-enabled FEniCSx tool for designing lightweight and high-performance components. It implements advanced optimization algorithms based on immersed boundary methods for numerical simulations in engineering.
OptiCut is a Structural Shape Optimization framework designed for engineers and researchers in advanced numerical simulation. It is built upon the FEniCSx project, leveraging its capabilities for efficient, parallel computing.
It provides a powerful solution for structural design by integrating advanced numerical methods:
- The Level Set method for geometry representation and evolution.
- The Cut Finite Element Method (CutFEM) for solving equations on non-conforming meshes, compatible with parallel execution.
- The Ersatz Material approach for simplified modeling.
This combination allows for efficient handling of complex, large-scale optimization problems in mechanical engineering and numerical analysis.
OptiCut is designed with modularity and adaptability in mind, making it a powerful and flexible tool:
- 3D Capability: The core implementation is fully compatible with 3D geometries and simulations, enabling the optimization of complex, real-world structural components.
- Problem Portability: The design includes a dedicated Problem Class. By modifying or extending this single class, users can easily adapt the framework to solve other optimization problems (beyond compliance and stress minimization). This modular structure ensures high code portability and reuse.
- Parallel Computing: Leverages FEniCSx for robust performance on large-scale problems and distributed memory systems.
The full documentation for OptiCut, including detailed installation instructions, parallel execution guidance, tutorials, and underlying theory, is available on the official website:
Access the Complete OptiCut Technical Documentation (Installation, Tutorials, and Theory)
The current version of OptiCut is implemented in parallel using the FEniCSx environment and relies on the CutFEMx library.
The framework comes with two main demonstrations illustrating its powerful applications:
- Structural Compliance Minimization (Stiffness Optimization):
- Utilizes the Ersatz and CutFEMx methods within a parallel setup to optimize the overall stiffness of structures.
- Minimization of the Lᵖ Norm of the von Mises Stress (Strength):
- Applies the CutFEMx method to design components with improved stress resistance by minimizing stress peaks.
This project is Open Source. Please refer to the "Contribution" section in the documentation for more details.