TL;DR: In this paper , the authors proposed a topology optimization method that considers the geometric constraint of no closed cavities to improve the effectiveness of additive manufacturing based on the fictitious physical model approach.
Abstract: This paper proposes a topology optimization method that considers the geometric constraint of no closed cavities to improve the effectiveness of additive manufacturing based on the fictitious physical model approach. First, the basic topology optimization concept and level set-based method are introduced. Next, the fictitious physical model for a geometric constraint in the topology optimization framework is discussed. Then, a model for the geometric constraint of no closed cavities for additive manufacturing is proposed. Numerical examples are provided to validate the proposed model. In addition, topology optimization considering the geometric constraint is formulated, and topology optimization algorithms are constructed using the finite element method. Finally, optimization examples are provided to validate the proposed topology optimization method.
TL;DR: A new compact representation called Binary Constraint Tree (BCT) is introduced, which proposes tree binary encodings to transform any MDD constraint into a BCT constraint.
Abstract: Ordered Multi-valued Decision Diagram (MDD) is a compact representation used to model various constraints, such as regular constraints and table constraints. It can be particularly useful for representing ad-hoc problem specific constraints. Many algorithms have been proposed to enforce Generalized Arc Consistency (GAC) on MDD constraints. In this paper, we introduce a new compact representation called Binary Constraint Tree (BCT). We propose tree binary encodings to transform any MDD constraint into a BCT constraint. We also present a specialized algorithm enforcing GAC on the BCT constraint resulting from a MDD constraint. Experimental results on a large set of benchmarks show that the BCT GAC algorithm can significantly outperform state-of-the-art MDD as well as table GAC algorithms.
Abstract: The constraint satisfaction problem (CSP) is a central generic problem in computer science and artificial intelligence: it provides a common framework for many theoretical problems as well as for many real-life applications. Soft constraint problems are a generalisation of the CSP which allow the user to model optimisation problems. Considerable effort has been made in identifying properties which ensure tractability in such problems. In this work, we initiate the study of hybrid tractability of soft constraint problems; that is, properties which guarantee tractability of the given soft constraint problem, but which do not depend only on the underlying structure of the instance (such as being tree-structured) or only on the types of soft constraints in the instance (such as submodularity). We present several novel hybrid classes of soft constraint problems, which include a machine scheduling problem, constraint problems of arbitrary arities with no overlapping nogoods, and the SoftAllDiff constraint with arbitrary unary soft constraints. An important tool in our investigation will be the notion of forbidden substructures.