Checkerboard structures cannot be manufactured in practice. The user also wants to obtain a mesh-independent result from the optimization. Due to these demands, SIMULIA Tosca Structure has a filter technique implemented to avoid mesh dependence. A specification of a filter radius (FILTER_RADIUS parameter) is necessary for applying the filter. If the radius of the filter is not specified, the optimization is performed using a filter having a default radius. This radius might be too large for coarse meshes. If the radius is too large, the optimization result will not show a detailed structure. A small value of the radius leads to a fine structure. Note: It is recommended to choose the filter radius equal to twice the mean element edge length. The filter radius is defined in OPT_PARAM command as follows: OPT_PARAM ID_NAME = optimization_control OPTIMIZE = id_of_optimize .. FILTER_RADIUS = 5. END_ | |||||||||||