Inflatable Structures

We present pneuCNTRL, a system providing a programmable, precise air pressure control in a multi-channel setup with interactive actuated, soft and malleable inflatables which we used for studies on data physicalization. pneuCNTRL is a compact, easy-to-use, and affordable solution that allows researchers to quickly and accurately control shape and haptic properties of inflatable structures in HCI experimental studies. We describe its design and functionality, and summarize our experiences with its use in research and teaching. We also discuss potential benefits of pneuCNTRL, such as its ability to support a wide range of experimental designs and the exploration of novel research questions.

Inflatable interfaces are so far predominantly used for creating shape-change. There has not been much work yet on creating tactile textures in inflatables. We present a pneumatic approach for soft and malleable surfaces that can change texture. We describe the pattern design, the fabrication and actuation approach, and illustrate how one texture inflatable prototype was used for lab experiments, and indicate potential application areas.

We present WireShape, a CNC-supported semi-manual rapid-prototyping process to create robust inflatable objects. The resulting air chamber systems provide a basis for the construction of shapechanging and malleable user interfaces by integrating sensors, or to create soft robotic actuators. Our process leverages CNC-fabricated bent-wire shapes as custom heat sealing tools for reliable fusing of thermoplastic films or coated textiles. The tools can be reused multiple times and the heat sealing time for fabrication of an individual inflatable is independent of its size (e.g. the length of the two-dimensional welding path), which enables time efficient prototyping of high-quality inflatable structures in small series and at relatively low-cost. We demonstrate a custom CNC-machine for wire bending, a vector graphics interpreter to generate the machine specific CNC-data (G-Code) from 2D vector drawings and outline our fabrication toolchain. The capabilities and limitations of our approach are discussed and preliminary observations and fabrication results from initial workshop sessions are provided.

Sansão Fontes, Espósito e Arbusà (2019) colocam a arquitetura como sendo uma disciplina para projetar os lugares da vida, sendo que opera dentro de uma lógica que pretende abrigar os atos humanos. Por outro lado, segundo os autores, a arte pode responder com uma liberdade quase absoluta, descomprometida com os hábitos próprios do viver, em que o ato de habitar pode ser questionado, liberando-se das responsabilidades com a vida. Nesse caso de estudo, o denominador comum da discussão é a relação que permeia o ar, a arte e a arquitetura. Para isso, buscou conhecer mais a fundo as afinidades entre essas proposições artísticas e "antiarquitetônicas" que foram desencadeadas principalmente a partir da década de 60. As experimentações aproximam o corpo do espectador, que deixa de só observar a obra, para participar, penetrar, tocar, adentrar o espaço do corpo, que se torna público. Com o objetivo de disseminar as produções infláveis e sua interdisciplinaridade entre a arte e a arquitetura, este trabalho apresenta o legado inflável de artistas latino americanas, com o compromisso de falar sobre o corpo através de uma instalação. Embasado na discussão do ar, e mulher artista no período da contracultura, em 1960-1970, as pesquisas bibliográficas se atentam à reconstrução do histórico relevante para o campo de estruturas pneumáticas sustentadas pelo ar e suas experimentações durante a época.

Ecco un abstract per il paper di Simone Mirabella:

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**Abstract** 
Questo studio esplora l'evoluzione e le potenzialità delle casseforme gonfiabili nel campo delle costruzioni, con un focus sull'uso combinato con il calcestruzzo e materiali alternativi. Partendo dalla definizione e dai primi utilizzi delle strutture pneumatiche nel XVII secolo, si analizzano i progressi pionieristici del XX secolo, come i brevetti di Wallace Neff, Dante Bini e dei fratelli South, che hanno introdotto sistemi innovativi per la realizzazione di gusci sottili in calcestruzzo. Il paper approfondisce quindi tre sistemi costruttivi contemporanei: *Automatic Construction*, che utilizza il tessuto "drop-stitch" per strutture piane rapide ed economiche; *Inflatable Concrete Dome*, un metodo che trasforma lastre piane in gusci curvi mediante gonfiaggio; e *Combat Concrete Shelters*, basato su una matrice di fibre cementizie per rifugi d’emergenza. Viene inoltre esaminato il prototipo del Padiglione ICD-ITKE (2014-15), esempio di integrazione di casseforme gonfiabili con fibra di carbonio, ispirato alla biomimetica. L’analisi evidenzia come tali sistemi rispondano alle esigenze odierne di sostenibilità, rapidità costruttiva e adattabilità a scenari di urbanizzazione e emergenza, pur sottolineando limiti come la dipendenza dal calcestruzzo e la necessità di ulteriori ricerche sui materiali e sulla diffusione su larga scala. Il lavoro si conclude con riflessioni sul potenziale delle casseforme gonfiabili per un’edilizia più efficiente e sostenibile, integrabile anche a strutture esistenti.

A betonok fagy-, illetve fagy- és olvasztósóállóság-vizsgálati hámlása időben lejátszódó folyamat, amely lassuló vagy gyorsuló jellegének korábban nem túl sok figyelmet szenteltünk. A hámlasztásos fagyasztási lassulás is viszonylag új fogalomnak tekinthető, amely fogalom ilyen elnevezésének a nemzetközi irodalomban sem találtuk a nyomát. E cikkben – amelyet az NVKP 16-1-2016-0019 pályázati támogatásból dolgoztuk ki – a hámlasztásos fagyasztási lassulási feltételt tartalmazó szabványoknak a lassulási feltétellel kapcsolatos intézkedéseit, valamint a lassulási feltétel e szabványokon túlmenő továbbfejlesztésének lehetőségét mutatjuk be.

Time Mutations (Buffalo) is the second in a two-part series of exhibitions of new artworks collaboratively curated between the Media Art & Design Program at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar and the department of Media Study at SUNY Buffalo. The initiating exhibition took place in August of 2011 in Weimar, Germany. The exhibition explores the concepts, challenges, and potentials of the "broken timeline"-the linear and apportioned perception of time that electronic communications, digital editing, and global travel continually dismantles. In each of these works the concept of time as linear or location as static is challenged, manipulated or collapsed, giving way to alternative experiences and constructions of time, space, and place. Uneasy navigations of technologically mediated time, in which the subject feels adrift between the shores of absolute and relative space-time, are particularly germane to an interaction between institutions separated by language, nationality, and time zones, but connected by a deep historical investment in experimental media practice.

Terepen történő járműmozgás két jelentős vesztesége a gördülési ellenállás és a szlip. A két veszteség hatással van egymásra, azonban a folyamatok tisztázása végett célszerű azokat külön vizsgálni. A terep egyenetlensége, a talaj inhomogenitása miatt jelentős lengések alakulnak ki, a gördülési ellenállás nagysága menet közben folyamatosan változik. A kerék alatt a talaj három irányban deformálódik. A jármű súlyereje függőleges talajdeformációt okoz. Ezt a deformációt a terepprofil gerjesztette lengések tovább fokozzák. A kerék alatt a talaj keresztirányban is deformálódik. Ezt a jármú keresztirányú lengései hozzák létre. Az előbb említett veszteségek a gumiabroncs és talajra vonatkozó gördülési ellenállás komponensei. A harmadik komponense a talajdeformációnak, a talaj (haladási iránnyal párhuzamos) vízszintes irányú deformációja. Ezt viszont a gumiabroncs-talaj kapcsolatában létrejövő szlip hozza létre, energiaszükségletét tehát a szlipveszteség tartalmazza. Húzott és tolt kerekekn...

This report describes a flexible, reliable, deep space life support system design approach that uses either storage or recycling or both together. The design goal is to provide the needed life support performance with the required ultra reliability for the minimum Equivalent System Mass (ESM). Recycling life support systems used with multiple redundancy can have sufficient reliability for deep space missions but they usually do not save mass compared to mixed storage and recycling systems. The best deep space life support system design uses water recycling with sufficient water storage to prevent loss of crew if recycling fails. Since the amount of water needed for crew survival is a small part of the total water requirement, the required amount of stored water is significantly less than the total to be consumed. Water recycling with water, oxygen, and carbon dioxide removal material storage can achieve the high reliability of full storage systems with only half the mass of full storage and with less mass than the highly redundant recycling systems needed to achieve acceptable reliability. Improved recycling systems with lower mass and higher reliability could perform better than systems using storage.

The exhibition Air Art, featuring the work of about a dozen artists, opened in Philadelphia in March 1968. Assembled by Willoughby Sharp, a young, independent curator, the show focused-as the title of the exhibition implied-on artworks that incorporated the medium of air. Examples included Andy Warhol's Silver Clouds, Graham Stevens' Pneumatic Structure, and David Medalla's Cloud Canyon. In the accompanying catalog, Sharp described the exhibited works as novel and avant-garde, positioning them in contrast to old static or object-like art. The narrative that Sharp presented in the exhibition and the catalog expose his geographically and historically limited view. All of the artists and innovators mentioned were male and no single artist from Latin America was included. This paper expands Sharp's idea of Air Art by exploring the work of a number Brazilian artists, architects, and innovators who employed the immaterial medium of air to make lightweight, malleable, and flying objects. Marcello Nitsche, Amelia Toledo, and Sergio Bernardes, for example, all worked with air during the long 1960s to create pneumatic objects and structures.

Hallgatói nyilatkozat Alulírott Veres Dávid a Széchenyi István Egyetem hallgatója kijelentem, hogy a Különböző modifikált bitumenek rugalmasság tulajdonságainak vizsgálata, az öregedés hatása a rugalmas tulajdonságokra c. diplomamunka a saját munkám, abban csak a megjelölt forrásokat, és a megjelölt mértékben használtam fel, az idézés szabályainak megfelelően, a hivatkozások pontos megjelölésével. Eredményeim saját munkán, számításokon, kutatáson, valós méréseken alapulnak, és a legjobb tudásom szerint hitelesek. Győr 2023. év május hó 14. nap ……………………………………………………… Veres Dávid Köszönetnyilvánítás Köszönettel tartozom Perlaki Róbert külső konzulensemnek, aki felé, ha bármi kérdésem volt hamar és készségesen, segítőkészen válaszolt. Köszönet illeti Rosta Szabolcsot, akinek a szakdolgozatom témáját és az általam vizsgált bitumeneket, valamint sok segítséget és ötletet köszönhetek. Köszönet illeti Nagy Richárd Tanár Urat, aki a szakdolgozatom írásában aktívan segített. Valamint szeretném megköszönni Madarász Klaudiának, aki a Széchényi István Egyetem Útépítési laboratóriumában segített a méréseket elvégezni, illetve megmutatni azok elvégzését.

High Altitude Airships (HAA) are lighter-than-air platforms deployed at around 20km altitude above sea level, currently gaining widespread attention for their potential as cheap substitutes for satellites. Non-rigid airships are the only choice for HAA due to their low-density requirement. They are characterized by the lack of metal frames, which in turn restricts payload capacity as well as rigidity of the airship envelope [2]. Variational Asymptotic Method (VAM) is a computational tool used to develop asymptotic models for composite structures like beams and shells [1]. This has advantages such as elimination of ad hoc assumptions as well as dimensional reduction in the models without compromising on accuracy. Hence, according to the nature of the problem, a theory can be derived with the desired orders of accuracy. This work is an attempt to propose a system of stiffeners to the airship envelope using inflatable membranous toroids, the advantages being prevention of kinks on the ...

A cikkemben bemutatom a szorítóújjas szerkezet működését az erről elnevezett burgonyaültető gépről, amely gépelem a gyártásától kezdődően, kisebb tehnikai fejlesztési trükkök alkalmazásával elérte a mai ismert formát. A geometriai és dinamikai fejlesztések szemléltetése mellett, felvázolok még három továbbfejlesztési lehetőségét ennek kulcsfontosságú gépelemnek, amelyek egyúttal további kutatások alapját képezik.

An electrostatic shielding concept for spacecraft radiation protection under NASA's Exploration Systems Research and Technology Program was evaluated for its effectiveness and feasibility. The proposed shield design is reminiscent of a classic quadrupole with positively and negatively charged spheres surrounding the spacecraft. The project addressed materials, shield configuration, power supply, and compared its effectiveness to that of a passive shield. The report herein concerns the identification of commercially available materials that could be used in sphere fabrication. It was found that several materials were needed to potentially construct the spheres for an electrostatic shield operating at 300 MV.

The object of this paper is the determination of the deformation of beams under the simulataneous actions of axial and transverse loads. The derivation of the governing equations uses the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory and the second order forms of equilibrium equations. The determination of the analytical solutions of the considered problems is based on so called fundamental solutions. Linear combination of the fundamental solutions which are filling to the given loading and boundary conditions gives the total solution. Two examples illustrate the applications of the presented analytical method. Kivonat A tanulmany targyat axialis erővel is terhelt allando keresztmetszetű hajlitott-nyirt rudak statikai feladatainak analitikus megoldasara alkalmas modszer alkotja. A kidolgozott analitikus eljaras az Euler-Bernoulli rudelmelet kinematikajan, valamint a rud deformaciojanak figyelembevetelevel felirt egyensulyi egyenleteken alapul. A tanulmany a problema megoldasat alkalmasan megvalasztot...

We present iSoft, a single volume soft sensor capable of sens ing real-time continuous contact and unidirectional stretching. We propose a low-cost and an easy way to fabricate such piezoresistive elastomer-based soft sensors for instant interac tions. We employ an electrical impedance tomography (EIT) technique to estimate changes of resistance distribution on the sensor caused by fingertip contact. To compensate for the rebound elasticity of the elastomer and achieve real-time con tinuous contact sensing, we apply a dynamic baseline update for EIT. The baseline updates are triggered by fingertip contact and movement detections. Further, we support unidirectional stretching sensing using a model-based approach which works separately with continuous contact sensing. We also provide a software toolkit for users to design and deploy personalized interfaces with customized sensors. Through a series of ex periments and evaluations, we validate the performance of contact and stretching sensing. Through example applications, we show the variety of examples enabled by iSoft.

Textiles are widely used in architecture for tensile structures, as they are lightweight and can easily span large distances. These structures typically require an external framework for a support. Inflatable structures are self-supporting but are limited to relatively simple forms or require complex and predetermined cut patterns. The development of an adaptive and programmable textile system with an integrative method for pneumatic activation would create a novel self-supporting structure with high degree of design and architectural potential. This creates a highly integrative hybrid system where the generic pneumatic membranes are constrained by the differentiated knitted textile skin that is stretched in several directions under air pressure. This allows for an innovative, lightweight, easily transportable design, where the preprogrammed knitting pattern defines the structure, geometry and formation, activated under pneumatic pressure.

In the Interactive Inflatables studio, participants will create bio-responsive inflatable structures to amplify human behaviors. Methods to concept and craft unique expansive designs will be taught. The interactive inflatable structures will respond to special and biological sensors. The studio is organized in stages and will involve and introduction of materials and media, concept generation, hands on making within partners, and a display of new tangible embedded and embodied interfaces.

A bányászati célú robbantások egyik kísérőjelensége a kőzetben terjedő szeizmikus hatás. Ennek mértéke befolyásolható különböző megoldásokkal, így káros hatása elkerülhető, de a jelenlétével mindig számolni kell. A rezgések nagyságát geofonnal mérhetjük, amit a hatósági előírások évente egyszer kötelezővé is tesznek a bányaüzem számára. Egy kiválasztott kőbányához közeli lakott területen végzett korábbi szeizmikus ellenőrző mérések eredményei kerülnek bemutatásra. A mért értékeket összehasonlítjuk a robbantásokkor és a jelenleg érvényes szabályzatok előírásaival.

NewSpace bears all the hallmarks of past revolutions in technology. Since we have other examples of exponential growth of specific technologies, we should maximize the economic and engineering potential of this movement by expanding the envelopes for long term crewed habitats in deep space. We should also take an approach that minimizes waste in both design and fabrication as these bases expand. This paper provides a systematic approach to habitats optimized for volume, radiation protection, crew psychology, reusability, affordability, crowd-sourced subsystem design, and expansion. These habitats and systems are designed to be as “future proof” as possible to allow rapid and safe technological advancement within the structures. One of major “showstoppers” of human space exploration is cosmic and solar events radiation. It is a serious problem that may cause cancer and other types of tissue damage and equipment malfunction. It has to be addressed in space vehicles design especially f...

From assisting with assembling the Orion capsule to using highly immersive virtual environments for astronaut training, MR technologies provide a powerful mechanism to alter the perception of the physical world and deliver realistic personalized visual stimuli to users. In this paper, we discuss a novel strategy to utilize MR technologies as a design element to enhance the interior architecture of the space habitat and enrich the inhabitants' personal experience. We discuss two scenarios that entail long-duration missions as well as a customized experience for space tourists in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO). A series of spacecraft volumetric studies of the ergonomics associated with the application of MR technologies are reported. Physical, virtual and combined experiences are mapped within the volumes with respect to crew ConOps. The experiences are then analyzed and translated to architectural design requirements that inform criteria for the development of personalized MR-based interventions. For the first scenario, NASA's 500 days on the surface of Mars mission is considered, which requires 600 additional days in microgravity transit inside the Deep Space Transfer vehicle, a 7.2 m wide hard-shell module. In this scenario, MR experiences are used as a stress countermeasure to help a crew of four to sustain psychological and behavioral health, maintain productivity, and stimulate teamwork and performance. This is accomplished by providing novelty in the habitat as well as designing content that can increase the volumetric perception of the environment. The second scenario is presented in the context of space tourism where habitats with minimum physical interior design elements can be transformed into comfortable habitable personal environments. Bigelow Space Operations' B330 was selected as a reference site for a 12-day LEO tourism mission. We discuss a design approach that provides tourists with a high level of comfort by using projection-based MR technologies to customize personal spaces based on individual user preferences. The implementation of these elements can help minimize launch requirements and significantly reduce the time and cost, both in terms of development and maintenance, which can be particularly interesting in future space hotels with regular guest rotations. The paper concludes with a discussion of directions for future research and design-based investigations. Compilations of mission-influencing factors such as launch mass and volume reduction per habitat, technology limitations and integration requirements are presented and evaluated by the level of importance for achieving mission goals and objectives.

This paper underlines the need of improving the traditional design method of stem rope footbridge by a sustainable reliable optimization design method of tensegrity footbridge. The proposed methodology displays the optimization of the topology of elements and of the structure, the specified loading and unloading procedures, and the system practical behaviour with respect to construction norms through the obtained multivariate objective function. Since tensegrity systems are characterized by geometric nonlinearity and larger displacements, a specific software program was developed using MATLAB build-in optimization codes. The developed combine mass and topology optimization procedure results in improved geometric and mechanical behaviour. Discussions are presently going on with involved local administration and with different national economical actors to financially foster the project feasibility.

The history of life support systems in space shows that mechanical life support systems have high duty cycles and consequent failure rates that make them problematic for long duration missions. Water Walls offers the potential for a largely passive system based on forward osmosis processes that will be much more reliable for long duration human exploration missions. Water Walls can also provide nutrient production and radiation shielding.

Our paper demonstrates a computational design workflow that creates and maps optimal 2D strut layouts based on input 3D shell geometries that function as membrane tensegrity shell (MTS) structures suitable for human occupancy. This workflow links conformal mapping, structural analysis, and optimisation algorithms to iterate through a series of strut layout parameters. From these layouts, we generate digital MTS models that, under structural loading, closely match their respective target models. We validate this workflow across five different geometries and this has produced low average local deviations that range between 47 to 65 mm, proving that our workflow is viable for non-standardised wide-spanning (8.0m) shell geometries with openings.

This study describes the main regularities for the construction of deployable metal shells of a cylindrical type. The comparative analysis of the efficiency of compact folding methods of thin metal shells of cylindrical and conical types, capable of maintaining the initial load-carrying capacity after unfolding without applying the additional strengthening methods, is presented. The range of possible parameters of long-length structures, constructed on the basis of rigid deployable pressurized shells, is characterized. The paper gives the qualitative and quantitative evaluation of basic functional characteristics of folding inflatable metal structures of cylindrical and conical types under the action of a complex of characteristic external loads, close to the maximum allowable ones. The result of experimental operability confirmation of the proposed structures' configurations is presented.

A torus-shaped sail consists of a reflective membrane attached to an inflatable torus-shaped rim. The sail's deployment from its stowed configuration is initiated by introducing inflation pressure into the toroidal rim with an attached circular flat membrane coated by heat-sensitive materials that undergo thermal desorption (TD) from a solid to a gas phase. Our study of the deployment and acceleration of the sail is split into three steps: at a particular heliocentric distance a torusshaped sail is deployed by a gas inflated into the toroidal rim and the membrane is kept flat by the pressure of the gas; under heating by solar radiation, the membrane coat undergoes TD and the sail is accelerated via TD of coating and solar radiation pressure (SRP); when TD ends, the sail utilizes thrust only from SRP. We study the stability of the torus-shaped sail and deflection and vibration of the flat membrane due to the acceleration by TD and SRP. The stability of the toroidal rim is addressed.

The Steel Eurocodes have an important role in the correct and adequate design of steel structures. Most of the programs, which are used for the static analysis of these structures, take into consideration the information offered by the Eurocodes, thus giving the opportunity to entrust them with the task to solve those problems, which are not clear and easily understandable for the user. As it will be proven in this article, the Eurocode 3 in some cases does not offer proper, clear explanations regarding some decisions. The main critics for the whole Eurocode package is that the user might not see clearly the connection between the scattered parts of the final solution.

A arquitetura, disciplina chamada a projetar os lugares da vida, opera normalmente dentro de uma lógica que tem como principal objetivo abrigar os atos humanos. Sua condição de objeto edificado exige uma resposta adequada não só material, estrutrural, espacial e ambiental, mas também no atendimento das exigências mais vitais desses atos. A arte, por outro lado, pode responder com uma liberdade quase absoluta, descomprometida com os hábitos próprios do viver, em que o ato de habitar pode ser questionado, liberando-se das responsabilidades com a vida. Este trabalho apresenta um recorte da obra do coletivo artisitico Penique Productios-os infláveis-suas referências e metodologia, destacando duas intervenções no Rio de Janeiro, realizadas em uma parceria entre Penique, o DAU PUC-Rio e a FAU UFRJ. O denominador comum é estabelecer uma conexão entre arquitetura, cidade e arte, por meio de obras coletivas de grande porte, efêmeras e habitáveis, que dialogam com o lugar existente, estimulando sua reintepretação.

Ivre de Pierres (LIDP) was an editorial experiment pursued intermittently by Jean-Paul Jungmann (b. 1935), a French architect and theorist, architectural educator and, above all, a magnificent draughtsman. 1 Jungmann was one of the fathers of the magazine Utopie, with which LIDP somehow plays a game of mirrors. After contextualizing Utopie's legacy, we will analyse LIDP's editorial, theoretical and architectural production, focusing on three different aspects: a) the iconography, b) the book format, and c) the text. Notwithstanding their different degrees of importance, these are the fundamental components of LIDP's

In early 2009, a team led by the Department of Space Studies at the University of North Dakota was awarded a 3-year NASA grant to study advanced inflatable habitat architecture concepts that could be adapted for use on the surfaces of the Moon and Mars. This paper will present a progress report as the project passes its initial six-month milestone. The study involves a hybrid inflatable design concept that is intended to maximize the commonality of technologies used in several different pressurized subsystems, including the habitat, airlocks and connecting structures, space suits, and pressurized rover interfaces. The hybrid approach involves an inflatable fabric structure that is constrained by an internal rigid frame which is constructed from elements contained in a palleted kit of parts. Once the pallet is emplaced on the surface, the inflatable bladder is expanded partially whereupon astronauts enter the interior to erect the spaceframe. The purpose of the frame is to structurally support the habitat during times of depressurization. The frame also operates to support the attachment of concentrated loads such as floor and wall panels, life support equipment, storage racks, and importantly, to provide a means by which the habitat can be rigidly connected to other base elements. A unique node connector is being devised to marry the pneumatic bladder to the frame, thereby allowing substantial structural loads to pass through the bladder without penetration. By avoiding a domed upper surface and keeping the floor of the habitat near the surface, this configuration is structurally and morphologically capable of supporting an overburden of heavy regolith for radiation shielding.

An editorial experiment pursued by Jean-Paul Jungmann between 1977 and 1983, L’Ivre de Pierres provides a series of imaginary visions, mostly of an imaginary Paris, conceived through architectural narrations that were articulated in the pages of a book. This article examines L’Ivre de Pierres’ unconventional approach to figurative writing, as an example of the possibilities of exploring architecture through narrative means, constructing urban narratives through architectural design, and developing architectural criticism through both. L’Ivre de Pierres did not renounce the project in favour of discourse, but employed architectural devices to elaborate a ‘concrete utopia’ instead: one made of potentially realizable projects which, however, were conceived to exist only as (real) fictions in the pages of a book. Firmly rooted in Jungmann’s previous experience with the magazine Utopie, with which it somehow plays a game of mirrors, L’Ivre de Pierres is also linked to the tradition of paper architecture that historically used fiction to produce architectural discourses, criticism, or to think architectural designs. This article researches on the narrative methods and modes – it examines the iconography, the book format, the content and types of texts – used in L’Ivre de Pierres as an example of the potential that these both visual and textual alternative realities have for the reading, thinking and writing of urban places.

In this paper, a new framework of form finding and structural optimizations for tensile domes was developed using a cutting-edge parametric modelling tool Grasshopper in Rhino. The detailed exploration of this new techniques is presented. It is found that the use of this parametric tool allows a more intuitive, rapid and flexible design. Structural optimisation of the member sizes, topology and surface can be explored easily at an initial design stage in a project. Therefore, the proposed new framework provides a more effective and efficient way for form finding and structural optimization. Based on the new method, a prototype Tensile dome which is to replicate the existing Tensile Dome Georgia dome is designed and analyzed. The structural behavior of the cable domes is investigated. Using this new framework, two ellipse shape Tensile domes with new geometrical configuration are developed. They exhibit enhanced load bearing capacity, therefore can be used the future long span structure projects.

El término inglés serendipity hace referencia al hallazgo de algo interesante, por casualidad, o a la habilidad de reconocer un descubrimiento –aunque este no tenga exactamente relación con lo que se está buscando. Durante los últimos cuatro años, Pneumatic Serendipity ha buscado de manera intencionada la coincidencia, el accidente, que permita establecer nuevas relaciones a través de la construcción de prototipos. A lo largo de diferentes talleres y seminarios, se han ido proponiendo experimentos que lleven a los estudiantes a reflexionar sobre la forma, estructura y construcción en el proyecto arquitectónico. Experimentos planificados por los tutores de los talleres –y que forman parte de una investigación más extensa–, pero espontáneos en la exploración y análisis por parte de los alumnos. Todos esos son aspectos que no solo resultan especialmente indisociables en las estructuras neumáticas sino que, a través de ellos, se llega a poner en cuestión la idea misma de habitar y perci...

NewSpace bears all the hallmarks of past revolutions in technology. Since we have other examples of exponential growth of specific technologies, we should maximize the economic and engineering potential of this movement by expanding the envelopes for long term crewed habitats in deep space. We should also take an approach that minimizes waste in both design and fabrication as these bases expand. This paper provides a systematic approach to habitats optimized for volume, radiation protection, crew psychology, reusability, affordability, crowd-sourced subsystem design, and expansion. These habitats and systems are designed to be as “future proof” as possible to allow rapid and safe technological advancement within the structures. One of major “showstoppers” of human space exploration is cosmic and solar events radiation. It is a serious problem that may cause cancer and other types of tissue damage and equipment malfunction. It has to be addressed in space vehicles design especially f...

Cutting patterns for architectural membranes are generally characterised by rational approaches to surface discretisation and minimisation of geometric deviation between discrete elements that comprise the membrane. In this paper, we present an alternative approach for cutting pattern generation to those described in the literature. Our method employs computational techniques of clustering and graph-traversal to operate on arbitrary design meshes. These design meshes can contain complex curvature, including anticlastic curvatures. Curvature analysis of the design mesh provides the input to the cutting pattern generation method and the net topology generation method used to produce a constraint net for a given membrane. We test our computational design approach through an iterative cycle of digital and physical prototyping before realising an air-inflated cable restrained pneumatic structural hybrid, at full-scale. Using a Lidar captured point-cloud model, we evaluate our results by comparing the geometrical deviation of the realised structure to that of the target design geometry. We argue that this work presents new potentials for membrane expression and aesthetic by allowing free-patterning of the membrane, but identify current limits of the workflow that impede the use of the design method across the breadth of current architectural membrane applications. Nevertheless, we identify possible architectural scenarios in which the current method would be suitable.

Cutting patterns for architectural membranes are generally characterised by rational approaches to surface discretisation and minimisation of geometric deviation between discrete elements that comprise the membrane. In this paper, we present an alternative approach for cutting pattern generation to those described in the literature. Our method employs computational techniques of clustering and graph-traversal to operate on arbitrary design meshes. These design meshes can contain complex curvature, including anticlastic curvatures. Curvature analysis of the design mesh provides the input to the cutting pattern generation method and the net topology generation method used to produce a constraint net for a given membrane. We test our computational design approach through an iterative cycle of digital and physical prototyping before realising an air-inflated cable restrained pneumatic structural hybrid, at full-scale. Using a Lidar captured point-cloud model, we evaluate our results by ...

Hague as early as 1968, at the Gemeentemuseum's seminal 'Minimal Art' exhibition curated by Enno Develin. 11 And that same December, he toured industrial sites across the West German border in North Rhine-Westphalia. At the latter, he gathered materials for two pieces which still exist. 12 And in March of 1969 Smithson contributed a pair of 'Mirror-Pieces' to the famed 'Op Losse Schroeven' exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam (fig. 1), using soil from the Limburg mining town of Heerlen. 13 We will address these in what follows. Such works strangely drop out of broader accounts of Smithson's work, centered, as many once were, upon his American output. 14 On the one hand, the North European pieces sustain Smithson's familiar obsessions with scale and entropy. On the other, the works-realized and unrealized-interrogate like no others the artist's famed indifference to period environmentalism. The pieces were conceptualized during a moment when neo-avant-garde

In early 2009, a team led by the Department of Space Studies at the University of North Dakota was awarded a 3-year NASA grant to study advanced inflatable habitat architecture concepts that could be adapted for use on the surfaces of the Moon and Mars. This paper will present a progress report as the project passes its initial six-month milestone. The study involves a hybrid inflatable design concept that is intended to maximize the commonality of technologies used in several different pressurized subsystems, including the habitat, airlocks and connecting structures, space suits, and pressurized rover interfaces. The hybrid approach involves an inflatable fabric structure that is constrained by an internal rigid frame which is constructed from elements contained in a palleted kit of parts. Once the pallet is emplaced on the surface, the inflatable bladder is expanded partially whereupon astronauts enter the interior to erect the spaceframe. The purpose of the frame is to structurally support the habitat during times of depressurization. The frame also operates to support the attachment of concentrated loads such as floor and wall panels, life support equipment, storage racks, and importantly, to provide a means by which the habitat can be rigidly connected to other base elements. A unique node connector is being devised to marry the pneumatic bladder to the frame, thereby allowing substantial structural loads to pass through the bladder without penetration. By avoiding a domed upper surface and keeping the floor of the habitat near the surface, this configuration is structurally and morphologically capable of supporting an overburden of heavy regolith for radiation shielding.

This paper describes the development of an augmented Lagrangian optimization method for the numerical simulation of the inflation process in the design of inflatable space structures. Although the Newton-Raphson scheme was proven to be efficient for solving many nonlinear problems, it can lead to lack of convergence when it is applied to the simulation of the inflation process. As a result, it is recommended to use an optimization algorithm to find the minimum energy configuration that satisfies the equilibrium equations characterizing the final shape of the inflated structure subject to an internal pressure. On top of that, given that some degrees of freedom may be linked, the optimum may be constrained, and specific optimization methods for constrained problems must be considered. The paper presents the formulation and the augmented Lagrangian method (ALM) developed in SAMCEF Mecano for inflatable structures analysis problems. The related quasi-unconstrained optimization problem is solved with a nonlinear conjugate gradient method. The Wolfe conditions are used in conjunction with a cubic interpolation for the line search. Equality constraints are considered and can be easily treated by the ALM formulation. Numerical applications present simulations of unconstrained and constrained inflation processes (i.e., where the motion of some nodes is ruled by a rigid body element restriction and/or problems including contact conditions).