Page 160 - IJB-7-3

Topology Optimized Locking Compression Plates to Minimize Stress Shielding
Table 1. The initial designs considered for the bone plates
Plate reference Number of holes
ID4 4
ID6 6

ID8 8

Table 2. Loading and boundary conditions considered for topology optimization
Loading type Description
Compression load

Bending load

Torsion load

Combined load

SIMP optimization was used to minimize the strain 3.3. Mesh dependency
energy of the plate designs shown in Table 1, considering Similar to any numerical approximation method, TO
different volume reductions (25, 45, and 75%) of the results are dependent on the meshing quality . Therefore,
[16]
initial design volume. To guarantee the integrity of the a preliminary study was conducted considering an eight
screw holes to preserve their shape during TO, the holes screw holes plate under compression loading and a
were considered frozen regions, as shown in Figure 2. volume reduction of 45%, discretized with eight-node

156 International Journal of Bioprinting (2021)–Volume 7, Issue 3