Читать книгу Rethinking Prototyping - Группа авторов - Страница 92

This paper discussed how funnel geometries could be made structurally efficient, as a combination of a three-dimensional equivalent of funicular half-arches balanced by tension ties. It showed how Thrust Network Analysis could be extended to incorporate tension elements, using directed elements in the form and force diagram, to create continuous tension rings. These concepts have been implemented by extending RhinoVAULT to these new boundary conditions. A simple design exploration showed the variety of possible shapes using only simple modification strategies. Lastly, a structural model was developed to validate the equilibrium solutions generated with the approach. This model furthermore hints at the attractive possibilities of filigree ribbed funnel structures, reminiscent of Schlaich’s beautiful tree structures.

Although the current, direct implementation allows an intuitive exploration of funicular funnel shells, as clear from the exploration in the result section, the following objectives represent routes for further research:

 Understand the actual dependencies and constraints of the form and force diagram for this new type of boundary condition better to fully explore the possibilities of the funicular funnel shell typology;

 Include feedback, or immediately constraints, on the global moment equilibrium during the form-finding process: Shells whose centres of gravity fall outside of the convex hull of the supports, can of course not stand as a combined pure compression shell and tension rings; and

 Formulate the form-finding as a best-fit (to a target surface/geometry) optimization problem, as in Block & Lachauer (2011) or Panozzo et al. (2013) for compression-only shells.