2014
NON-EUCLIDEAN CASTING GEOMETRIES II
Professor: Brad Bell
Grad Students: Josh + khang + tenaj
Concrete cladding systems with porosity can provide benefits such as enhanced light penetration, breathability, and thermal control. However, introducing porous openings in concrete panels also increases tensile stress, which is exacerbated when the porosity is irregular. Unfortunately, current fabrication techniques limit the degree to which these openings can be deformed or arranged due to the lack of standardized methodologies for ordering steel reinforcement in non-linear arrays or grids, particularly in precast concrete panels where standardization of steel configuration and efficiency of implementation are essential.
To address this, prescriptive codes need to be developed to facilitate the procedural ordering of steel reinforcement for reinforced perforated panels, compensating structurally for irregular perforation using digital analytics. To achieve this, research must investigate acceptable perforation typologies for integration, generate and evaluate code for controlling porosity and ordering steel reinforcement, develop standardized methodology for joining irregular reinforcement assemblies, and fabricate modularized formwork that can adapt to intense variation in porosity and steel reinforcement.
The research objectives should also consider and incorporate sustainability and conventional façade performance outcomes.