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- When creating direction changes in these lines consider the resultant drag caused by the abrupt change in the fluid's path as well as the turbulence it can create, which further affects the pressure and velocity values of the flowing fluid
- The red pockets on the corners symbolize points of flow separation, which just means that the smooth stream is broken up into sections, causing turbulent flow and pressure losses.
- All in all this just means that you should for as straight and consistent as a path as possible, and if you have to, utilize more gradual, smoother turns, as more abrupt and constant turning hurts fluid flow, leads to excess drag, as well as lots of pressure drops and turbulence
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Topology Optimization
Above is a brake pedal mock up I created (bare with me, I know the initial design isn't pretty but it is to showcase how topology optimization can drastically change and improve a design).
- For starters, Topology Optimization optimizes the material use for a part, and it can optimize specifically for stiffness-to-weight ratio, minimal mass, etc.
- This is especially useful on parts that are long/larger and inherently have a lot of material, which can lead to small high stress concentrations and the rest of the material being redundant and unneeded
- All in all, if you are really looking to not just meet design requirements for your part, but truly create an optimized and efficient part, Topology Optimization can be a great help
Now I am going to run through a simple Topology Optimization setup, what my thought process is, and how to interpret the results.
Firstly, topology optimization utilizes FEA (Finite Element Analysis) to take in stress, strain, factor of safety, etc. etc. to understand how the part reacts to the specified load and situation.
For the FEA, you'll need to set up your material, supports, and loads. For the topology optimization, you'll also need to set your optimization goals.
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Useful Tidbits
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Ergo Idea dump 
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