Structural optimization of flexible components of multibody systems in optimal control

This paper focuses on combined optimal control and structural optimization for flexible multibody systems. The idea of coupling both optimization tasks is promising to obtain the best possible mechanical structure with respect to an optimal control problem. A combined set of adjoint gradients is used for an
efficient and accurate computation of first-order gradients. The advantages of the proposed approach, especially in terms of computational effort, will be exploited in the mass minimization of a flexible robotic system, where the robot is driven by torques and the tool-center point (TCP) must reach a defined state at the final
time.