Fluid Flow-Based Topology Optimization of Internal Channels of a LPBF-Manufactured Calibrator Side Lath

Abstract

In this study, a method is presented to design embedded cooling channels in an additively manufactured metal part. A fluid flow-based Topology Optimization (TO) methodology was applied on a specific industrial case study with thermal objectives and constraints. The resulting design was 3D-printed and assessed numerically. In addition, the cooling efficiency is compared against that of the original design, which is machined. This work was performed using commercial software tools Simcenter STAR-CCM+ to perform the thermal and fluid flow optimization and simulations; NX to generate a final geometry from optimization results and 3DXpert to assess part printability.