Isogeometric topology optimization of strain gradient materials

In this paper optimal topologies of isotropic linear elastic strain gradient materials are investigated by means of isogeometric topology optimization. The employment of strain gradient theory allows not only to capture the microstructural effects of materials but also to regularize stress/strain concentration phenomena and to address the so-called wedge forces. Isogeometric analysis is used in order to meet the requirements of higher-order continuity of strain gradient elasticity theory. For the purpose of determining the constitutive parameters of strain gradient materials, a novel experiment is conceived by using the Digital Image Correlation (DIC) technique. The so-called SIMP (Solid Isotropic Material with Penalization) method is applied to interpolate the material stiffness tensors (including the fourth-order and the sixth-order stiffness tensor) by power law with penalty. Benchmark numerical experiments are conducted to illustrate the computational effectiveness and numerical robustness of the proposed method. •Isogeometric topology optimization of strain gradient materials based on Solid Isotropic Material with Penalization (SIMP) method is presented.•A novel experiment is conducted to determine strain gradient constitutive parameters of 3D printed specimens by Digital Image Correlation (DIC) technique.•Size-dependent phenomena are characterized in the optimization of strain gradient materials.•The abilities of accommodating the so-called wedge forces and regularizing stress/strain fields of strain gradient materials are demonstrated.