LevelOpt Setting Descriptions¶

Regular Settings¶

Setting	Description	Recommended	Default	Effect
Volume Fraction Constraint (V)	Sets the target volume of the final design as a fraction of the initial volume	user-defined based on design requirements	0.5	Lower values remove more material, resulting in lighter designs
Number of design iterations (N)	Sets the maximum number of iterations for the optimization process.	`0` to `100` `0` skips automated iteration but provides sensitivity feedback for user-driven designs	`10`	Higher values allow for more refined designs but increase computation time. Lower values result in quicker computation, but the design may be less optimized.
Resolution (Res) or Finite Element Cell Size (S)	Sets the resolution of the finite element mesh used in the analysis	user-defined based on problem complexity	`100000`	Higher resolution provide more accurate analysis but longer computation time.
Starting Design Geometry (G)	Allows users to begin optimization from an existing design or custom geometry	user-defined	None	Used as a starting point to refine an existing design.

Advanced Setting	Description	Recommended	Default	Effect
Level Set Cell Size (LS)	Determines the size of the level set grid cells relative to the FEA grid	0.25 to 1.0 (fraction of FEA grid size)	0.5	Smaller values create finer, more detailed features but slower convergence; larger values speed up the optimization process
Move Limit (M)	Controls the extent of changes per optimization iteration, as a factor of the level set cell size	0.5 to 2.0 (factor of level set cell size)	1.0	Higher values lead to faster convergence, but may be unstable; lower values provide more gradual, stable changes.
Smoothing Iterations (T)	Defines how often the geometry is smoothed during the optimization process	1 to 10 (iterations),	1	Frequent smoothing (lower values) results in smoother designs; less frequent smoothing preserves finer details.
Fix Thickness (F)	Specifies the width around load and boundary conditions that remains unchanged	2.0 to 10.0 (factor of level set cell size)	4	Preserves critical regions around loads and supports, ensuring they are not altered during optimization.
Retain Interfaces between Components (R)	Allows users to specify if the interface between the design domain and the non-design domain should be fully preserved	`True` or `False`,	`True`	`True` fully preserves the interface, maintaining a solid connection. `False` allows optimization of the interface.