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M AT E R I A L C O M P U TAT I O N

C L I F F O R D

M A R I O

K O S A S I H

DESIGN JOURNAL | SPRING 2015

introduction: material computation


frame analysis
All pictures are taken by :
Clifford Mario Kosasih, Chen Yutong,
Lee Fu Hui, Ng Yi Jin, Tay Jenn Chong, Chow Man Yee,
Goh Yi Qian, and Melissa Estella Lim

shell analysis
shell and frame analysis
brick fabrication
robotic fabrication

This design report documents 7 weeks of exploration and investigation involving structural
analysis, digital fabrication and material optimization, applied using various computational tools.
By evaluating the possibilities of material computation, we formulate design problems using
computational methods and technologies and decide to further explore the design of a staircase.
This design project aims to re-think and redefine how staircase is designed with respect to its

This design exploration focuses on the effect of material distribution of a canopy design on its structural strength and

Looking at simple moment diagrams for both loading conditions, it can be interpreted that more material needs to be

a b i l i t y. T h e c a n o p y f r a m e n e e d s t o b e c a n t i l e v e r e d 1 0 m e t e r s f r o m a w a l l a n d t h e r e i s o n l y 3 . 5 6 m e t e r s o f a l l o w a n c e f o r

d i s t r i b u t e d n e a r e r t o t h e w a l l i n s t e a d o f f u r t h e r a w a y. C o m p a r i n g t h e p o i n t l o a d c o n d i t i o n a n d t h e c o n t i n u o u s l o a d

t h e c a n o p y f r a m e t o h a v e e x t r a s u p p o r t v e r t i c a l l y.

condition, it can be seen that the moment diagram for the former condition is a linear graph, while the latter condition is
c u r v e d . B y u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h e m o m e n t d i a g r a m f o r a c a n t i l e v e r, w e c a n b e b e t t e r i n f o r m e d i n c o n c e p t u a l i z i n g t h e c a n o p y

frame design.

Diagram 001 Setting up condition for canopy frame design

Diagram 002 Moment diagram for point load condition

Diagram 003 Moment diagram for continuous load condition

these long members together forming a complete frame.


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Image 001 Render view


longer members of the frame alternates in its origin, from the top and

bottom. This provides the structural support as shown by the moment


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diagrams above. Along the longer side of the canopy frame, the

diagram. Furthermore, the short members of the frame connnects


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The design tries to simulate the condition shown by the moment

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Image 002 Plan view

Image 003 Side elevation view

Image 004 Front elevation view

Material: Steel
Radius: 0.1 m
Maximum deflection: 1.688 mm

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The shell canopy needs to cover a span of 10m between two buildings. It can be supported from both sides of the

Similar to the cantilever frame canopy before, it is structurally better for the shell canopy to have a variation in hight

building. Furthermore, this canopy needs to have deflection less than 5mm.

a l o n g t h e z - a x i s . S i n c e w e h a v e t w o s i d e s o f t h e b u i l d i n g n o w, t h e e s s e n t i a l p a r t t o t a k e n o t e o f i s t h e m i d d l e p o r t i o n o f
t h e c a n o p y, w h e r e t h e m o s t d e f l e c t i o n w i l l b e m o s t l i k e l y t o o c c u r. T h e r e f o r e , b y m i r r o r i n g t h e p r o f i l e o f t h e c a n o p y f r o m
o n e t o t h e o t h e r, i t i s a b l e t o p r o v i d e e x t r a s u p p o r t f o r t h e d e f l e c t i o n .

Higher positive
amplitude
Lower positive
amplitude
Higher negative
amplitude

Higher positive
amplitude

Lower positive
T

amplitude
Higher negative
amplitude

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The canopy is formed by lofting two curves together and creating intertwining shell. With thickness of 0.411m, the
deflection stands at 0.277mm, which is far below the allowable deflection of 5mm.

I m a g e 0 0 5 R e n d e r v i 14
ew

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Image 006 Plan view

Image 007 Front elevation view

Image 008 Side elevation view

Material: Concrete
Thickness: 0.411m
Maximum deflection: 0.277mm

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The shell and frame canopy needs to cover the space between two 50m long buildings separated 12m apart. The

Through form-finding from past precedents, the most efficient way for forces to run through matter is to form a catenary

coverage needs to be at least 80% and the boundary condition needs to be simply supported. Furthermore, the

s t r u c t u r e . T h e r e f o r e , t h i s d e s i g n e x p l o r a t i o n f o c u s e s o n t h e c a t e n a r y f o r m o f a s h e l l c a n o p y. K n o w i n g a b o u t t h e c a t e n a r y

m a x i m u m a l l o w a b l e d e f l e c t i o n s h o u l d b e c a l c u l a t e d f r o m s p a n / 3 0 0 . A d d i t i o n a l l y, t h e m a x i m u m a l l o w a b l e s t r e s s i s 1 2 M P a

f u n c t i o n i s e s s e n t i a l i n t h i s d e s i g n e x e r c i s e a s t h a t i s t h e m a i n d r i v i n g f o r c e o f t h e f o r m o f t h e c a n o p y. T h e p a r a m e t r i c

for steel, 30MPa for concrete and 15MPa for wood.

catenary function is as follows:

where t = 0 corresponds to the vertex and a equals to the parameter that determines how quickly a catenary graph opens
up.

Catenary shape forms the cross section of the canopy and through the long section, the parameter a changes so as to
give different spatial experience. The entrance and the exit will have higher parameter a so as to create a larger volume
Z

s p a c e a s c o m p a r e d t o t h e m i d d l e p o r t i o n . L a s t l y, t o c r e a t e h o l e s i n o r d e r t o p r o v i d e v e n t i l a t i o n t o t h e s p a c e u n d e r t h e
c a n o p y, t h e f o r m i s i n f l u e n c e d b y s i n e c u r v e i n t h e p l a n v i e w s o a s t o c r e a t e t h i s m e a n d e r i n g f o r m .

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I m a g e 0 0 9 R e n d e r v i 20
ew

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Image 010 Plan view

Image 011 Front elevation view

Image 012 Side elevation view

Frame material: Steel

Maximum stress on frame: 70.688 MPa

Shell material: Concrete

Maxmium stress on shell: 13.877MPa

Radius: 0.1 m

Maximum deflection: 13.878 mm

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Bricks of different quality (i.e. hard, medium and soft) are needed to visualize topology optimization in the physical world.
A group of 11 students explored different materials and methods of production to end up with concrete and casting. Here
are the documentations of different bricks produced as experimentation as well as the actual mass production of the

concrete bricks.
We e x p e r i m e n t e d w i t h s t y r o f o a m c u b e s b y c u t t i n g h o l e s i n i t u s i n g t h e f o a m c u t t e r. T h e r e s u l t i s p r e t t y r a n d o m a n d
quality (i.e. hard to soft) instead of varying the materials from hard to soft.

chaotic, yet this is the beginning of the idea of creating holes on an opaque material to produce cubes with different
To p r o d u c e a s o f t o r t r a n s l u c e n t c u b e , w e d e c i d e d t o m e l t g l u e
stick and mold them into a cube. We needed about less than
10 glue sticks in order to fill up 5cm x 5cm x 5cm cube. It is a
tedious and long process to melt the glue stick first then pour
it into the mold. It takes almost 2 days to harden, after which
the soft or translucent quality is not really successful since the

to remove the mold after it hardens.

cube turns more opaque as it hardens. Also, it is very difficult

a c h i e v e t h e v a r y i n g q u a l i t y. I n t h i s c a s e , i t i s t r a n s l a t e d i n t o t h e d i f f e r e n t t h i c k n e s s o f p a p e r i n o r d e r t o f i l l i n t h e e m p t y

This is the latest iteration that we did before our concrete cubes. The design idea begins with creating holes in order to
To p r o d u c e a c u b e w i t h f u l l o p a c i t y, w e d e c i d e d t o m e l t c a n d l e
wax and mold them into a cube. The result is pretty successful
w i t h t h e c u b e s t i l l i n t a c t a f t e r t h e m o l d i s r e m o v e d . H o w e v e r,
the options of varying its opacity or quality are very limited as

it can only represent the hard cube.

S t i l l s t i c k i n g t o t h e i d e a o f m o l d i n g , w e t r i e d t o m o l d d i f f e r e n t m a t e r i a l s n o w i n c l u d i n g n e w s p a p e r, p l a s t i c b a g a n d t i s s u e
p a p e r. U s i n g a m i x t u r e o f e a c h m a t e r i a l a n d w h i t e g l u e ( p a p e r- m a c h e ) , w e p u t t h e m i n s i d e t h e m o l d f o r a f e w d a y s i n t h e

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hope that they will harden over time.

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We decided to carry on with casting concrete and mass produce our cubes. By varying the opening in the concrete, we
can achieve the three different qualities needed for the cubes: soft, medium and hard. The following pages documents

medium

the process in which the concrete casting was done.

3c

x 3
cm

2c

hard

m
2c

x 2
c

1c

c
x 1

2c

soft

The design focuses on creating holes on the sides of the cubes.


By changing the size of the hole from 3cm x 3cm to 1cm x 1cm,
w e h a v e m a n a g e d t o v a r y t h e q u a l i t y o f t h e c u b e s . A d d i t i o n a l l y,

1c

x 1
cm

0c

c
x 0

smaller hole is added to the side of the cubes (with decreasing

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size as well) so as to add another dimension to the design.

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There are a lot of considerations

The styrofoam filling needs to be

Before we started the mass

In order to be able to remove the

After getting the right mix of

After all the mold has been filled

needed in order to design the mold

carefully designed as well so that the

production, we needed to test out

mold easily after the concrete

c o n c r e t e a n d w a t e r, w e s t a r t e d

with concrete, we need to wait for

c o r r e c t l y. I n i t i a l l y, w e w a n t e d t o

smaller side can fit in to the larger

the best concrete mix in order for it

hardens, we need to layer the inner

t h e c a s t i n g p r o c e s s . To b e m o r e

approximately one day for it to fully

have 2 rows of 10 bricks in one

hole. Since the cube is designed

to harden promptly while maintaining

side of the mold with oil. This is

efficient, this process needs to be

cure. After the concrete hardens, we

b a t c h o f m o l d . H o w e v e r, i t i s t h e n

with two openings of different sizes

its materiality during the mold

done before every batch of casting.

done in groups of 3-4 people. One

can remove it slowly by firstly taking

observed that when we need to

at the two sides, it is important to

removal process. As we can see

person to continue mixing concrete

out the masking tape, and removing

stick in styrofoam in order to make

note that the styrofoam fillings need

from the above picture, we vary the

w i t h t h e r i g h t a m o u n t o f w a t e r, a n d

the styrofoam filling. With the layer

the hole, it is very difficult to do

t o f i t i n t o o n e a n o t h e r. T h e r e f o r e ,

proportion of concrete aggregates

two to three people need to assist

of oil, it is easier for the mold to be

1 0 h o l e s a t o n c e . A d d i t i o n a l l y, t o

tolerance is needed as well.

and water so as to produce the

with layering the mold with oil as well

removed.

remove the mold of 10 bricks side

different strength of the concrete

as the casting process itself.

b y s i d e i s h a r d e r t h a n 5 b r i c k s o n l y.

cubes.

Therefore, we decided to reduce to


2 rows of 5 cubes. Furthermore, the
teeth need to be carefully designed
with tolereance so that all the parts
c a n f i t t o g e t h e r n i c e l y. I n t h e e n d ,
we still need to put masking tape all
around the mold to secure them.

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A f t e r p r o d u c i n g t h e c u b e s t h r e e v a r y i n g o p a c i t y, w e c a n v i s u a l i z e p h y s i c a l l y a 3 D t o p o l o g y o p t i m i z a t i o n c o n d i t i o n b y

Furthermore, the mesh is divided into 9 x 6 x 6 smaller

cubes to be able to categorize them into three discrete

cubes.

The code allows the mesh to be divided into three different

numbers to be fed in into the source plane code.

categories: 0, 1, and 2 which then result in a list of these

load

to design a 3D topology optimization that can cater to the

Due to the limited number of each cubes, it is essential


resources available. Hence, being able to find the number of

support

mesh

r e c t a n g u l a r s p a c e . T h e l o a d i s a c t i n g d o w n w a r d s a n d t h e s u p p o r t i s a f i x e d a l o n g t h e x , y, a n d z a x i s .

be performed. In this case, we are experimenting with one support at the end and one load at the other end of the 3D

a r r a n g i n g t h e c u b e s u s i n g r o b o t i c a r m s . F i r s t l y, w e n e e d t o d e t e r m i n e a s c e n a r i o w h e r e 3 D t o p o l o g y o p t i m i z a t i o n c a n

each cubes quickly is important.

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respective origin planes of the cubes.

the source plane, we match the number 0, 1 and 2 with the

After feeding the list of shades into the code to generate


To d e t e r m i n e t h e t a r g e t p l a n e , w e n e e d t o c o n s i d e r t h e

constraint of the robotic arms, where it can only extend

up to 1m radius. Therefore, we need to make sure that

when the robot is placing the cubes according to the

target plane, it must be within the range as well as on the

table.

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<

Suction system may not be strong enough to hold

Improving the suction system is one of the

the cubes up.

s o l u t i o n s . A d d i t i o n a l l y, o t h e r s y s t e m s u c h a s
g r a b i n g c a n b e c o n s i d e r e d . L a s t l y, f o r q u i c k f i x
we can just hold it down with our hands or allow
for more resting time for the suction system to
properly grab the cubes and let them go.

Inaccuracies of the source cubes placement.

The source base is a good idea, nonetheless there


needs to be some tolerance for the cubes, so that
i t c a n b e l i f t e d u p e a s i l y.

Adjacent cubes are hitting one another due to

To l e r a n c e o f 5 m m t o 1 0 m m i s n e e d e d f o r t h e r o b o t

the inaccuracies of the robot and the cubes

to be able to safely place the adjacent cubes

fabrication.

w i t h o u t h i t t i n g o n e a n o t h e r.

Cubes are difficult to grab.

The design of the cubes needs to be light yet


easily transportable using the suction system. Our
concrete cubes are not suitable for this, therefore
the other design using wood is a better option.
Nonetheless, the design of the least opaque cube
needs to be reconsidered as there is barely any
surface for the suction to grab them.

Manual supply of the cubes to the robot.

This can be one by providing a simple incline


storage of cubes where all the cubes move down
by itself due to the inclinationwhen the first cube
is removed.

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