Eurocode-compliant Topology optimisation and analysis of a steel Cover-plate in a splice moment connection

Advanced manufacturing has been supported in industries such as automotive, aerospace materials and medical devices, among others, by using Computer-aided Topology Optimisation (TO). However, civil engineering and, mainly, steel construction have been far from experiencing a similar revolution. This can be attributed to the lack of design methodologies, the difficulty in simultaneously optimising parts to non-conventional topologies while complying with design codes, and the advanced computational skill required. Motivated by these circumstances, this research synthetises Eurocode 3 design criteria for simple splice connections into geometrical constraints and optimises the topology of a landmark moment connection. To such an end, the Solid Isotropic Material with Penalisation (SIMP) method was used, and the Energy Stiffness Measure minimisation was established as the objective function. It has been found that both flanges cover-plates, as well as web cover-plates, could be optimised so that an overall reduction of 58% of the original weight was achieved, suggesting a remarkable potential for Topology Optimisation on structural steel connections while meeting the design standards requirements.