Thermo-Structural Topology Optimization Considering Nonlinear Creep

Abstract

Creep is a primary life-limiting mechanism for metallic components operating at high temperature, producing permanent deformation under sustained loads even when stresses remain below yield. The design of structures to minimize this deformation is critical to extending the service life of components. Incorporating creep into topology optimization (TO) remains open because the response is nonlinear, history-dependent, and thermomechanically coupled, and prior work often relies on linear viscoelastic models, which do not capture the behavior of metals at high temperatures. To bridge this gap, we introduce a differentiable thermo-structural TO framework. The approach considers creep deformation using the Norton model and leverages JAX's automatic differentiation to perform adjoint sensitivity analysis, enabling efficient gradient-based optimization. The transient material response is solved via a backward Euler scheme over a prescribed service life. Our objective is to minimize creep deformation subject to a volume constraint. We first demonstrate the framework on canonical two-dimensional benchmarks, showing that the proposed formulation significantly reduces permanent deformation compared to designs optimized solely for elastic stiffness. We then pose, as a challenge problem, the compositional design of a three-dimensional graded material turbine blade in which the local mixture of two candidate alloys is optimized. This challenge problem exercises the full capability of the framework, including transient nonlinear creep, coupled thermal loading, three-dimensional geometry, and gradient-based multi-material design, highlighting the need for creep-aware design in high-temperature applications.