Creating a rib design restriction

You can specify a rib design geometric restriction for a topology optimization.

The rib pattern restriction forces the optimizer to prevent material accumulation and to generate substructures in the form of ribs.

See Also
Creating a geometric restriction in a topology or sizing optimization
Creating a geometric restriction in a shape optimization
  1. From the main menu bar, select Geometric Restriction Create .

    The Create Geometric Restriction dialog box appears.

    Tip: You can initiate the Create procedure in two other ways:

    • Click Create in the Geometric Restriction Manager. (You can display the Geometric Restriction Manager by selecting Geometric Restriction Manager from the main menu bar.)

    • Click the tool in the Optimization module toolbox.

  2. From the Create Geometric Restriction dialog box that appears, enter the name of the geometric restriction.
  3. Select Rib design from the list of geometric restrictions, and click Continue.
  4. From the viewport, select the region in which the rib design restriction will be enforced or click Done to apply the rib design restriction to the entire model.

    By default, Abaqus/CAE allows you to select all of the model. To select faces or cells, use the Selection toolbar to change the type of object that you can select to Face or Cells. For more information, see Filtering your selection based on the type of object.

  5. Optional: If you would rather select from a list of existing sets, do the following:
    1. Click Sets on the right side of the prompt area.

      Abaqus/CAE displays the Region Selection dialog box containing a list of available sets.

    2. Select the set of interest, and click Continue.

    Note: The default selection method is based on the selection method you most recently employed. To revert to the other method, click Select in Viewport or Sets on the right side of the prompt area.

  6. When you have finished selecting the geometric restriction region, click Done in the prompt area. For more information on selecting objects, see Selecting objects within the viewport.”

    The Edit Geometric Restriction dialog box appears.

  7. Optional: By default, the region in which the Optimization module checks for rib design is the same as the region in which it enforces the rib design restriction. If desired, select from the top of the Edit Geometric Restriction dialog box, and select the rib design check region.
  8. Optional: By default, the Optimization module assumes the rib direction is defined in the global coordinate system. To change the coordinate system, click for the CSYS option and do one of the following:

    • Select an existing datum coordinate system in the viewport.

    • Select an existing datum coordinate system by name:

      1. From the prompt area, click Datum CSYS List to display a list of datum coordinate systems.

      2. Select a name from the list, and click OK.

    • Click Use Global CSYS from the prompt area to revert to the global coordinate system.

    Alternatively, click to define a new datum coordinate system.

  9. Click , and select two points specifying the out-of-plane growth direction of the ribs.
  10. Enter the Rib thickness.

    The rib thickness is the averaged thickness of the ribs.

  11. Enter the Rib distance.

    The rib distance is the averaged distance between the rib centers. The distance must be larger than twice the average element edge length.

  12. Click OK to create the rib design geometric restriction and to exit the editor.