Recent years have seen a growing interest in topology optimization of functionally graded microstructures, characterized by an array of microstructures with varying volume fractions. However, microstructures optimized at slightly different volume fractions do not necessarily connect well when placed adjacently. Furthermore, optimization is commonly performed on a finite set of volume fractions, limiting the number of microstructure configurations. In this paper, we introduce the concept of differentiable microstructures, which are parameterized microstructures that exhibit continuous variations in both geometry and mechanical properties. To construct such microstructures, we propose a novel formulation for topology optimization. In this approach, a series of 2-dimensional microstructures is represented using a height field, and the objective is to maximize the bulk modulus of the entire series. Through this optimization process, an initial microstructure with a small volume fraction undergoes non-uniform transformations, generating a series of microstructures with progressively increasing volume fractions. Notably, when compared to traditional uniform morphing methods, our proposed optimization approach yields a series of microstructures with bulk moduli that closely approach the theoretical limit.

Handling stress constraints is an important topic in topology optimization. In this paper, we introduce an interpretation of stresses as optimization variables, leading to an augmented Lagrangian formulation. This formulation takes two sets of optimization variables, i.e., an auxiliary stress variable per element, in addition to a density variable as in conventional density-based approaches. The auxiliary stress is related to the actual stress (i.e., computed by its definition) by an equality constraint. When the equality constraint is strictly satisfied, an upper bound imposed on the auxiliary stress design variable equivalently applies to the actual stress. The equality constraint is incorporated into the objective function as linear and quadratic terms using an augmented Lagrangian form. We further show that this formulation is separable regarding its two sets of variables. This gives rise to an efficient augmented Lagrangian solver known as the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM). In each iteration, the density variables, auxiliary stress variables, and Lagrange multipliers are alternatingly updated. The introduction of auxiliary stress variables enlarges the search space. We demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed formulation and solution strategy using simple truss examples and a dozen of continuum structure optimization settings.