Although extensively used in automotive and aerospace engineering, Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) shells remain barely used for load-bearing purposes within the realm of architecture and civil structures. The present research examines the potential of combining the material efficiency of the shell structural paradigm with the high performance of CFRP for developing lightweight structures for slab and roof components.
An integrated Shape Optimization-to-fabrication workflow is developed and implemented, where the form and fiber architecture of the component is optimized to profit from the high tensile strength and low weight of the material. With the aim of achieving significant material savings, the material is used in tow format and a Coreless Winding technique is explored, evaluated and deemed as a suitable fabrication scenario. For this purpose, a multi-objective optimization procedure is developed to determine the forms that are capable of negotiating structural, functional and spatial constraints of bespoke prefabrication for multi-storey buildings with the fabrication constraints of Coreless Winding.
At fiber level, a stress lines-informed fiber arrangement is defined and an optimization algorithm implemented to generate a filigree structure that is fabricated and evaluated. This demonstrator serves as a means for testing the mechanical behavior of such a structure as well as the test of the fabrication processes. Finally, it helps to cast some light on the architectural experience of spaces that this design and fabrication process can create.
ITECH M.Sc. Thesis Project 2018: Resistant Filigrees - Shape Optimization-to-Fabrication Workflow for coreless wound CFRP structures for spanning applications
Jorge A. Christie Remy-Maillet
Thesis Advisers: Serban Bodea, James Solly
Thesis Supervisor: Prof. Jan Knippers
Second Supervisor: Prof. Achim Menges