Phase field: a variational method for structural topology optimization

A phase transition method which addresses the topology optimization problem was presented. It was observed that similar to the setting of material distribution approach, the design was restricted within a fixed reference domain. A continous variable p(x) was used within the design domain x ε ω such that the characteristic function of the designed structure was defined. It was found that the model of material properties was isotropic and linear with respect to the design variable p(x).