Maximizing strength of bimaterial interfaces

Bi-material interfaces are prevalent in a broad range of natural and man-made components and systems. Failures often occur on the interface at a free edge, especially when the corresponding linear elastic solution exhibits a singularity in stress, which depends upon the material properties and the included angles of the two material bodies. In this paper, we combine finite element analysis and a compact self-organizing cellular automata-based genetic algorithm for topology optimization of the bi-material system. The objective is to eliminate stress singularities and furthermore to reduce peak interface stresses. The developed algorithm is applied to a simple bi-material plate in an attempt to maximize strength through geometric design.