Structural analysis of Heinz Isler’s bubble shell

This paper presents a detailed structural analysis of a bubble shell engineered by Heinz Isler. Through 3D scanning the geometry of this shell structure has become available to the authors. Structural analysis has not been possible before since the geometry of the shell was not available. The bubble shell was Isler’s most built type of shell. In...

Size and Topology Optimization for Trusses with Discrete Design Variables by Improved Firefly Algorithm

Firefly Algorithm (FA, for short) is inspired by the social behavior of fireflies and their phenomenon of bioluminescent communication. Based on the fundamentals of FA, two improved strategies are proposed to conduct size and topology optimization for trusses with discrete design variables. Firstly, development of structural topology...

Form-finding of shell structures generated from physical models

Vector form intrinsic finite element is a recently developed and promising numerical method for the analysis of complicated structural behavior. Taking the cable-link element as example, the framework of the vector form intrinsic finite element is explained first. Based on this, a constant strain triangle element is introduced, and relevant...

How to understand ' Structural Morphology'?

Due to its wide range of related research contents and diversified research approaches, the term ‘Structural Morphology’ has not been clearly defined by the Structural Morphology Group (SMG) of the International Association for Shells and Spatial Structures (IASS), founded in 1991, although some scholars have given their own viewpoints. This...