Stress ratio and compliance based methods in topology optimization - a critical review

Several currently popular methods of topology optimization are closely related to the classical Fully Stressed Design (FSD)/Stress Ratio (SR) or Minimum Compliance (MC)/Uniform Energy Distribution (UED) methods. The ranges of validity of the above techniques - and of recent variations on the same themes - are examined critically and possible extensions of their validity considered. Particular attention is paid to so-called hard-kill or Evolutionary Structural Optimization (ESO) or Adaptive Biological Growth (ABG) methods and to the Generalized Stress Design (GSD) technique.