Partitioning a topology-optimized structure into additively manufacturable parts using a feature-mapping approach: a novel decomposition optimization method

Structures re-designed with topology optimization (TO) for additive manufacturing (AM) are restricted to the maximum build size of an AM machine. This work proposes a novel mathematical method that sequentially solves two subproblems, namely the topology and part decomposition problem, to obtain the optimal material layout and partitioning of large-scale structures into additively manufacturable components. Presented as decomposition …