A study on practical objectives and constraints for heat conduction topology optimization

This paper presents some practical formulations for heat conduction topology optimization problems. In post-optimization analysis, temperature metrics are often used to compare the performance of optimized structures, yet are not used generally as optimization objectives. In this article, SIMP-based topology optimization is used to explore several objective functions related to electronics applications to demonstrate clearly the impact of improper objective selection. Performance variations over 100% were observed when comparing key metrics between optimized structures. Findings here are extended to problems in electronics domains, where temperature optimization may be used in unconventional ways to capture more realistic design considerations. This includes an investigation in the combinatorial use of objectives and constraints to satisfy electronics requirements. Four case studies are presented where topology optimization methods are used to maximize system performance metrics while satisfying temperature constraints.