310 research outputs found
Topology and shape optimization of induced-charge electro-osmotic micropumps
For a dielectric solid surrounded by an electrolyte and positioned inside an
externally biased parallel-plate capacitor, we study numerically how the
resulting induced-charge electro-osmotic (ICEO) flow depends on the topology
and shape of the dielectric solid. In particular, we extend existing
conventional electrokinetic models with an artificial design field to describe
the transition from the liquid electrolyte to the solid dielectric. Using this
design field, we have succeeded in applying the method of topology optimization
to find system geometries with non-trivial topologies that maximize the net
induced electro-osmotic flow rate through the electrolytic capacitor in the
direction parallel to the capacitor plates. Once found, the performance of the
topology optimized geometries has been validated by transferring them to
conventional electrokinetic models not relying on the artificial design field.
Our results show the importance of the topology and shape of the dielectric
solid in ICEO systems and point to new designs of ICEO micropumps with
significantly improved performance.Comment: 18 pages, latex IOP-style, 7 eps figure
Design of Lightweight Structural Components for Direct Digital Manufacturing
The rapid growth in direct digital manufacturing technologies has opened the challenge of designing optimal micro-structures for high-performance components. Current topology optimization techniques do not work well for this type of problems and hence in this paper we propose a technique based on an implicit representation of the structural topology. The detailed microstructure is defined by a continuous variable, the size distribution field, defined over the design domain by chosen shape functions. We can optimize the structural topology by optimizing only the weights of the size distribution field and, for any given size distribution, we use standard meshing software to determine the actual detailed micro-structure. We have implemented the optimization loop using commercial CAD and FEA software, running under a genetic algorithm in MATLAB. Application this novel technique to the design of a sandwich beam has produced designs that are superior to any standard solid beam or even optimized truss structure
Point configurations that are asymmetric yet balanced
A configuration of particles confined to a sphere is balanced if it is in
equilibrium under all force laws (that act between pairs of points with
strength given by a fixed function of distance). It is straightforward to show
that every sufficiently symmetrical configuration is balanced, but the converse
is far from obvious. In 1957 Leech completely classified the balanced
configurations in R^3, and his classification is equivalent to the converse for
R^3. In this paper we disprove the converse in high dimensions. We construct
several counterexamples, including one with trivial symmetry group.Comment: 10 page
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