Optimal shape of axisymmetric solids using NURBS and automatic differentiation

Shape optimization of axisymmetric solids of revolution using a geometry description by NURBS surfaces, with a Sequential Quadratic Programming algorithm (SQP), Automatic Differentiation (AD) for the sensitivity analysis and the Finite Element Method (FEM) for the structural analysis is proposed in this work. As a result, structures with improved structural performance are obtained for static linear elastic structural problems, where the optimal structures present a continuous large thickness variations.