Virtual simulation of shape generation of homeostatic models

PATRICIA M. BELLES; MARTA B. ROSALES; MIGUEL A. CONCA

Santa Fe, Argentina

Congreso; XV Congreso sobre Métodos Numéricos y sus Aplicaciones; 2006

AMCA, CIMEC

This paper deals with the shape generation of structural shells within the field of Conceptual Design. A virtual simulation of previous experiments on physical ?homeostatic? models, carried out by other authors, is herein presented. The physical experiments were based on the biological principle of ?Homeostasis?: when an external agent attacks the structure, the latter defends itself intelligently to recover its bearing capacity. Heat is the external agent used to cause the model material degradation. Thus the model adopts a more appropriate structural shape in order to continue resisting loads. The virtual simulation is performed using a finite element software with a thermal elasto-plastic material model. In particular, Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA) is considered. Comparisons between the shapes found with the physical and virtual experiments are presented. Similar results on shapes generation have been reported regarding concrete shell shapes also found using finite element method with progressive load increments.