The Influence of the Load Term of the Strain Energy Sensitivity in the Shell Shape Optimization

The sensitivity method is a type of effective shape optimization method and the strain energy is a frequently used objective function. The change of a surface shape inevitably causes a change in its quality. However, the influence of the load term on strain energy sensitivity has not been considered in many studies. In order to make the influence clear, the formula of the strain energy sensitivity including the load term was first derived. Secondly, the influence of the sensitivity load term on the structural evolution was studied by using different optimization schemes. The results showed that the load term of strain energy sensitivity accounts for a small proportion of the whole strain energy sensitivity, but it still has a cumulative impact on the structural evolution, and the shell thickness has an impact on the role of the load term of the strain energy sensitivity. The load term could influence the rate of increase in the structural weight and had an impact on the shape change to some extent. Therefore, for general construction projects, the strain energy sensitivity should be with the load term if the shell thickness is very thin or a higher performance of the structure is required.