Openlsto: Open-source software for level set topology optimization

Abstract

In this paper, we present an Open source software for Level Set based Structural Topology Optimization (OpenLSTO) written in C++. This software comes with two modules: an FEA module which can be used to perform finite element analysis, and an LSM module which can be used to perform design optimization using the level set method. OpenLSTO can be compiled and executed with just a C++ compiler, being independent of any third-party libraries. This first light version of OpenLSTO implements the level set topology optimization method for the compliance minimization problem, subject to a volume constraint. With the help of a user tutorial, we explain the layout of the code. We show how to implement the key stages of level set topology optimization using brief code snippets and relevant theory. In future versions of OpenLSTO, extended capabilities using external libraries are to be launched. The code can be downloaded from http://m2do.ucsd.edu/software/. © 2018, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc, AIAA. All rights reserved.