45 research outputs found
NetworkedDesign: Next generation infrastructure for computational design
No full textDuring the design and engineering process of buildings and structures an enormous amount of data and information is produced. Logic, knowledge and experience is employed during this process by the designers and engineers to finally come to the design result. Because this information can not be fully recorded by software, a huge amount of information and a potential resource for further investigation in the design process is lost. One reason among others being that the current systems are not able to support the subprocesses in the design process and hold the information stack consisting of data, information, knowledge, etc. If a computational infrastructure would be available which would be able to hold and record the stack produced, an important opportunity exists for learning from this information and producing better designs,manage buildings better, etc. Furthermore, advanced computational technology has a number of additional advantages which at the moment cannot be fully benefited from, such as better coordinated and more optimised design, more understanding of complex behaviour, information management and digital manufacturing. This is because the current life cycle of the building or structure cannot be completely followed through in computational systems and therefore gaps in the essential steps of the design and engineering process appear and therefore loss of information. Again, an infrastructure which would be able to support development of tools, applications, frameworks and systems and which would be able to carry data across processes and tools potentially could improve this situation. This research project envisions this infrastructure as a conceptual base for development of the tools and systems of the future. The term ‘infrastructure’ has been chosen due to the aimed similarity with other infrastructures which acted as a platform technology for a variety of innovations, such as the mobile network infrastructure and glass-fibre network infrastructure. When developing such an infrastructure an important barrier arises which is the fact that it is not trivial to define what the users (designers and engineers) require from such an infrastructure to be able to work closely with it during the design process. An computational and conceptual infrastructure is a very abstract concept for end-users. End-users often are not aware of all technological possibilities and usually can only define immediate short term requirements but not long term development requirements or map out complex abstract concepts. To resolve this issue application of a custom methodology has been proposed and used for the studies in which conceptshave been derived from observations in practice through a process called Empathic Design (Leonard and Rayport, 1997) (note that observations include any data derived observing practice, so also include active derivation of observations, such as discussions, or even observed critique of available systems and paradigms active in practice) and are linked to technological concepts which have been derived from various technological sources of development. Finally, this results in a first step toward a computational design theory which sets out the conceptual direction for development and future research. The process of abstraction of theory from observations through concepts and conceptualisation has been based on the research methodology Grounded Theory (Glaser and Strauss, 1967). To develop the theory a study has been performed into structural design and engineering, its key values and its key characteristics in relationship to their pitfalls for computation. Furthermore, technological concepts have been studied and reported on in this dissertation which provide inspiration and direction to be linked to the concepts from the design and engineering domain. A number of existing technologies has been studied to identify strengths and shortcomings to establish further reaching concepts. The first attempt to meet the requirements established in the computational design theory was made by making use of parametric and associative design, which appears in software applications such as GenerativeComponents (Aish, 2005) and Grasshopper (McNeel, 2008). This paradigm has a various features closely matching the concepts of design, such as the ability to follow through change, the ability to define and process logic and decomposition. However, closer study showed that modifications and extensions had to be made to make it applicable in structural design and engineering. These modifications and extensions are discussed in this dissertation and various published papers. However, finally, a set of concepts remained which required fundamental modification of the paradigm. Therefore, a new infrastructure has been proposed under the name ‘NetworkedDesign’ which includes new concepts unavailable in previous studied paradigms, such as multi-directionality, solving by choice, meta-process and meta-knowledge, as well as a large number of previously existing concepts in a novel combination of a single infrastructure. A first implementation of this infrastructure in the form of a prototype demonstration design system has been used to demonstrate the concepts of the infrastructure in a variety of situations. This infrastructure opens new opportunities for the application of computation in practice as well as new areas of research previously largely unrelated to the building industry such as collective intelligence, computational intelligence and embedded design intelligence. In the practice of the application of computation in structural design and engineering this infrastructure will open new opportunities for new design tools, such as StructuralComponents (Rolvink et al., 2010), as well as partial resolution of the issues with interoperability.BEMNext LaboratoryCivil Engineering and Geoscience
Grootschalige toepassing van windenergie in en nabij stedelijke gebieden
No full textTransport & PlanningCivil Engineering and Geoscience
Een Living Bridge voor Amsterdam: Ontwerpstudie naar een vaste oeververbinding over het IJ
No full textAmsterdam probeert al jaren om zowel Noord als de oevers van het IJ te betrekken bij het stadsleven. De gehele zuidoever en het westelijke deel van de noordoever worden of zijn al herontwikkeld. De zuidoever is inmiddels veel meer een onderdeel van de stad. Noord en de noordoever liggen echter nog steeds relatief geïsoleerd van het centrum. Hoewel de komst van de Noord/Zuidlijn de bereikbaarheid zal verbeteren, wordt Noord pas echt een onderdeel van de stad wanneer er een visuele verbinding wordt gemaakt. Een vaste oeververbinding over het IJ zorgt ervoor dat bewoners van Noord eenvoudiger te fiets of te voet naar het centrum kunnen. Om ook mensen uit het centrum naar de andere kant van het Centraal Station te krijgen, moet er een reden zijn om over te steken. Dit extra programma kan op de noordoever worden gesitueerd, maar ook op de brug zelf. Dan wordt de brug een living bridge. Het ontwerp van deze living bridge was het hoofddoel van dit afstudeerproject. De scheepvaart speelde en speelt nog steeds een belangrijke rol voor Amsterdam, en is daarom een zeer belangrijke randvoorwaarde voor de living bridge. Het vervoer van gevaarlijke stoffen over water zal moeten worden gereguleerd om op de brug en de functies op en aan de brug voldoende veiligheid te garanderen. De scheepvaart wordt daarvoor gescheiden in verschillende vaargeulen. Beroepsvaart wordt verdeeld over twee vaargeulen, zodat éénrichtingsverkeer ontstaat. Het vervoer van brandbaar gas wordt beperkt tot de nacht, zodat overdag slechts nog rekening moet worden gehouden met brandbare vloeistoffen, voornamelijk benzine. Wanneer een voldoende brandwerend gevelsysteem wordt toegepast, kunnen direct naast de vaargeul verblijfsfuncties (voor gebruik overdag) worden geplaatst. Woningen kunnen pas vanaf 25 meter van de vaargeul worden gebouwd, in verband met de ’s nachts varende gasschepen.Design and ConstructionCivil Engineering and Geoscience
The influence of a compressive longitudinal stress on the strength of fillet welds (Final report)
No full textCivil Engineering and GeosciencesStructural Engineerin
Transparant ductility: Reinforcing a structural glass girder
No full textTransparency and light are hot items in building design and massive structural elements often form an unwelcome necessity for architects. The structural use of glass could be an ideal solution to this problem, but as yet it has not been widely applied. The problem is that although glass is a transparent, strong and stiff material, it is feared by structural engineers for its brittle and unpredictable failure behavior. Many studies have proven that the introduction of reinforcing elements can provide a safe failure behavior for glass girders, but none of them seem transparent enough. This study focused on developing a new and more transparent solution to reinforce a structural glass girder. An exploratory study into the subject has resulted in a selection of appropriate reinforcing materials and adhesive systems.Design and ConstructionCivil Engineering and Geoscience
De toepassing van biomimetica op de woningbouw in overstromingsgebieden
No full textBiomimetica is de wetenschap waarin elementen uit de natuur worden nagebootst met het doel menselijke problemen op te lossen. Evolutionaire ontwikkelingen hebben eraan bijgedragen dat de natuur bestaat uit voornamelijk geoptimaliseerde vormen, structuren en processen. In dit afstudeeronderzoek is biomimicry aangegrepen om tot het ontwerp voor een vloedbestendige woning te komen. In de eerste fase van dit onderzoek zijn de gedragingen van verschillende elementen in de natuur bij (dreigend) hoogwater vastgesteld. Vervolgens is geanalyseerd of deze natuurlijke gedragingen een interessante bijdrage kunnen leveren aan het ontwerp van een vloedbestendige woning. Eén van de elementen uit de natuur die interesse heeft opgewekt is het bananenblad. Deze wordt belast door luchtstroming in plaats van door waterstroming en is aangepast aan deze situatie.De structuur van het bananenblad is zodanig dat deze inscheurt bij hoge windsnelheden. Het belaste oppervlak wordt hierdoor verkleind, zodat de totale belasting op het blad afneemt. De kans dat de plant de storm overleeft wordt groter doordat vitale onderdelen als de stengel minder snel zullen beschadigen. Geanalyseerd is hoe dit concept vertaald kan worden naar een in de woningbouw toe te passen concept. Door de oppervlakte van een gevel te verkleinen zullen de totaalkrachten op de constructie afnemen. Een bijkomend voordeel is de lagere stromingsweerstand van de woning bij afnemende eveloppervlaktes. Dit is een voorwaarde om in bepaalde gebieden te mogen bouwen, bijvoorbeeld in de uiterwaarden van rivieren. Om de bruikbaarheid van een dergelijk concept aan te tonen is in de laatste fase van het afstudeeronderzoek een praktische toepassing gepresenteerd in de vorm van een ontwerpcase. Het resultaat is een ontwerp voor een vrijstaande woning in de uiterwaard van de Nederrijn bij Arnhem. De ontworpen woning beschikt op de begane grond verdieping over lichtgewicht gevels die omhoog kunnen worden geschoven in geval van dreigende hoge waterstanden. Hierdoor transformeert de woning in een paalwoning. De rivier zal bij hoogwater de onderste verdieping benutten voor de doorstroming van het water, iets waar bij de indeling van de woning rekening mee moet worden gehouden. De voornaamste functies van de verdieping zijn het bieden van parkeergelegenheid en opslagruimte.Design and ConstructionCivil Engineering and Geoscience
Optimization of dome housing in Sri Lanka
No full textThe Solid House Foundation uses inflatable hemisperical formwork to build concrete dome dwellings. In this thesis a study is made of possible optimization of this building concept. Main occasion is the increasing price of rebar and the bad availability of rebar in most regions where the SHF is active. As SHF is now involved in a large housing project in Sri Lanka, a first focus is on this region. To have an idea of threads and opportunities in dome building a literature study was made on dome shapes in nature, domes in other cultures, the history of concrete shells built with inflatable formwork and of domes in general. As a result several form-related possibilities were identified that could reduce the tension stress in the shell and thus the amount of reinforcement needed. Also, research on alternative materials for dome building was done. This resulted in several options of which ferrocement was considered the most suitable. The latter from both a cost point of view as from the fact that there is a lot of experience with this easy applicable material in Asia. For the current design half of the material turns out to be used for the foundation of the dome. After some calculations could be concluded that this heavy foundation was required to anchor the uplifting forces of the inflatable formwork. Consequently research has been done on alternative anchorage of the form, resulting in ideas for formwork that does not need anchorage at all. The research phase was rounded off with a study of the climatic circumstances in Sri Lanka. Matching building responses to the climate were studied and applied on dome designs. The conclusions drawn from a structural analyses in the finite element program ANSYS have resulted in a proposal for alternative material use in combination with the currently applied formwork. A design for a ferrocement shell has been made and an experiment is carried out. However to improve issues such as the heavy foundation and the dependency on electricity, a different design of the formwork is required. Therefore possibilities for an alternative design of the formwork are studied and evaluated.Design and ConstructionCivil Engineering and Geoscience
Living bridges Dordrecht: A bridge across the Oude Maas
No full textThe city of Dordrecht has always had a strong connection to the rivers surrounding it. In the early days the city was the centre of trans-shipment of goods on the north-south and east-west trade routes across Europe. In these days, the rivers formed the only entrance to the city. In the last two centuries the city was connected to land infrastructure (railway and roads), which led to a shift of the city centre. With the coming of the railway and its station south of Dordrecht in 1872 the main entrance to the city was shifted from the rivers to the land. This led to a shift of the location of the city centre, it used to be parallel to the river, now it shifted more to the south, leading to regression in the old city centre and to a diminished connection with the other cities on the river banks (Zwijndrecht and Papendrecht).Design and ConstructionCivil Engineering and Geoscience
