A5. Others
Ex 1. How to make the shell smoother?
Method 1: Generate a denser pattern
Subdivion algorighm could be used to subdivide the initial pattern.
When creating a pattern from triangulation, the target length can be set smaller.
Method 2: Relax the Pattern
After relaxation, unfix all the vertices of the pattern by following the instructions in the previous step Unfixing of the vertices can be done (or not even necessary, if they are intended to be used as anchors) during any point before the creation of the FormDiagram. However, for clarity of the procedures of the main workflow steps, all vertices are explicitly unfixed in this step.
Comparing pattern refinements
Left - Pattern from feature with target length 1, without smoothing or relaxation
Middle - Pattern from feature with target length 1, and 30 iterations of constrained Laplacian smoothing (notice the more evenly distributed vertices along the boundaries)
Right - Pattern From Feature with target length 1, 30 iterations of constrained Laplacian smoothing and relaxation with all boundary vertices fixed (notice the much smoother continuous edges).
g. Force distribution
RhinoVAULT2 offers the possibility to make the force distribution inside the structure homogeneous. The advantage of a uniform distribution is related to the materialisation process. Structural elements with big axial forces require bigger cross-sections than elements with small forces. If the force distribution in the structural elements is not uniform, we need different cross-sections to build our structure. If the force distribution is homogeneous, only one cross-section for the entire structure may be needed. To do so, we can modify the edge attributes of the Force diagram and apply a smaller range to their max and min length (Fig.17).
e. Supports with vertical resultant
In some cases, in the design of a structure, we can encounter into constraints coming from the boundary conditions. For example, could be that we want to add supports in the middle of the structure, but the new supporting area can only take vertical loads. In RhinoVAULT2, after we reach the horizontal and vertical equilibrium, we can still move the vertices of the Thrust Network along the Z direction. The supports we picked at the beginning, at the boundaries, carry loads in any direction, and if we move them along Z, this will not change. Instead, the vertices in the middle of the shell can be used as support and moved along Z getting only a vertical reaction. As you can realise, the vertices in the middle of the Thrust Network are in horizontal equilibrium and if we move them only along Z, this will still be the case (Fig.15).
Loads
The TNA method allows the application of parallel loads to the structure, and RhinoVAULT2 does the same. By default, the load considered is related to the self-weight of the structure, but additional point loads can be added at the nodes of the network (Fig.19).
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