Using computer tools that create new designs in addition to modeling them will require changes in the way designers currently use computation. Thus, rapid development of experimental systems is needed to enable studies of integrating these new tools within varying design processes. Within the domain of computational engineering design, this talk will highlight work done on the development of a parametric synthesis method that supports exploration of novel structural forms in relation to engineering and architectural performance for both routine and challenging scenarios. The method, called structural shape annealing, combines grammatical shape generation, performance evaluation, including behavioral analysis, and simulated annealing optimization. Compared to published results, the method is capable of generating innovative, optimally directed planar trusses, single-layer space frames and transmission towers.
Present work focuses on method and system development for use in education and practice.
This includes a current extension to multiobjective optimization and integration of the method within a CAD tool that will allow designers to experiment with this new type of design aid within a familiar environment. Development of parametric synthesis methods in multiple domains using the same fundamental methodology will allow for generalization of knowledge that could be instrumental in expanding the role of computation in design to include effective synthesis partners. The presence of the free surface places great challenges to numerical simulation in addition to the usual complexity of turbulence computation. Such difficulties include the anisotropic constraints of the surface on flow field, the complex geometry of the deformable free surface, the nonlinear interaction between turbulence and surface waves, as well as surfactant dynamics. Examination of the effects of these layers on the turbulence statistics shows clearly the different turbulence mechanisms operating in the respective near-surface scales.