SIMP Method

Hey guys,

 

I have a question on the theory of the SIMP Method used in OptiStruct to perform a Topology Optimization.

I got that the stiffness matrix of a material is varied depending on its 'density' and that using the penalization factor p, we are aiming for design with only 0 and 1 values in the end.

 

For me it's still unclear, how OptiStruct is calculating these density values. How does the solver know where I have an element with density 0, 1 or something in between?

 

Kind regards and thanks in advance

Simon