GE Jet Engine Bracket – Topology Optimization (GrabCAD Challenge)

Reconstructing and analyzing GE's Jet Engine Bracket for their GrabCAD topology optimization challenge. Since the original STEP file is no longer public, I rebuilt the baseline geometry in SolidWorks/Fusion 360 from the published design envelope (190×105×10mm), interface locations (Ø19.11mm clevis pin bore + 4 machine bolts), and the challenge's four defined load cases (LC1–LC4, up to 42,258 N). Running a mesh sensitivity study in ANSYS Mechanical (5,614 → 473,537 elements), I found stress at a boss-to-boss region wasn't converging monotonically as the mesh refined. Rather than treating it as a solver quirk, I traced it through fillet studies (3mm vs 4mm), a SolidWorks B-rep gap check, and Hex-Dominant mesh attempts to a locally mesh-sensitive geometric feature — not a modeling defect. Baseline result: 348.62 MPa peak von Mises stress, FOS 2.59 on Ti-6Al-4V (903 MPa yield), at 1.094 kg. Next step: a SIMP-based topology optimization workflow to generate a weight-reduced, manufacturable redesign validated against all four load cases.