2022 Conference article Open Access

Exploratory study on a segmented shell made of recycled-HDPE plastic
Laccone F., Manolas I., Malomo L., Cignoni P.
Recycled HDPE plastic can be obtained from up to 100% waste material and can be produced in the shape of panels and rods. The aim of this work is to explore the possibility to employ this material for structural purposes. The proposed concept for segmented shells is based on the cassette system, namely a spatial waffle structure clamped by inner and outer plates, and a shaping strategy of the shell cross section targeted on bending. The concept is applied on translational surfaces, in which the transverse cross section serves as the shaping objective. A digital workflow is implemented to explore the possible solutions and to evaluate the shells' feasibility from both a fabrication and a structural point of view. A case study of 5.2 meters is further explored with nonlinear analysis.Source: IASS 2020/21 - Inspiring the Next Generation. The 7th International Conference on Spatial Structures and the Annual Symposium of the IASS, pp. 1859–1870, University of Surrey, UK, 23-27/08/2021
DOI: 10.15126/900337
Project(s): EVOCATION
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2022 Journal article Open Access

Automated generation of flat tileable patterns and 3D reduced model simulation
Manolas I., Laccone F., Cherchi G., Malomo L., Cignoni P.
The computational fabrication community is developing an increasing interest in the use of patterned surfaces, which can be designed to show ornamental and unconventional aesthetics or to perform as a proper structural material with a wide range of features. Geometrically designing and controlling the deformation capabilities of these patterns in response to external stimuli is a complex task due to the large number of variables involved. This paper introduces a method for generating sets of tileable and exchangeable flat patterns as well as a model-reduction strategy that enables their mechanical simulation at interactive rates. This method is included in a design pipeline that aims to turn any general flat surface into a pattern tessellation, which is able to deform under a given loading scenario. To validate our approach, we apply it to different contexts, including real-scale 3D printed specimens, for which we compare our results with the ones provided by a ground-truth solver.Source: Computers & graphics 106 (2022): 141–151. doi:10.1016/j.cag.2022.05.020
DOI: 10.1016/j.cag.2022.05.020
Project(s): EVOCATION
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2022 Conference article Open Access

A computational tool for the analysis of 3D bending-active structures based on the dynamic relaxation method
Manolas I., Laccone F., Cherchi G., Malomo L., Cignoni P.
The use of elastic deformation of straight or flat structural components for achieving complex 3D shapes has acquired attention from recent computational design works, particularly in architectural geometry. The so-called bending-active structures are built by deforming and restraining the components mutually to form a stable configuration. While the manufacturing of components from flat raw material and their assembly are simple and inexpensive, the complexity lies in the design phase, in which computational tools are required to predict the deformation and forces under a prescribed form-finding load or displacement. Currently, there is a scarcity of open and efficient tools that hinder the design of bending-active structures. This paper proposes and validates an open-source computational tool for predicting the static equilibrium of general bending-active structures in the form of a network of elements using the dynamic relaxation method. We apply our tool to various real-world examples and compare the results to a commercial FEM solver. The proposed tool shows accuracy and good time performance, making it a significant addition to the available open-source structural engineering toolkit.Source: Smart Tools and Applications in Graphics - Eurographics Italian Chapter Conference, Cagliari, Italy, 17-18/11/2022
DOI: 10.2312/stag.20221250
Project(s): EVOCATION
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2023 Doctoral thesis Restricted

Computational design and fabrication of tileable patterns: from geometry to mechanical properties
Manolas I.
With the increasing availability of CNC machines and 3D printers, the fabrication of physical artifacts and their visual appearance has become trending research topics in the Computer Graphics community. In recent years, several workflows have been developed to streamline the Digital Fabrication process, overcome material, size, and geometric limitations, and speed up the reproduction and the prototyping phase. In addition to high-resolution reproductions, new approaches which realize objects in an artistic manner instead, have acquired attention. It quickly became apparent that these techniques could also be directed towards the production of objects that look and perform in a desired way, e.g. when subject to a particular external or internal stimulus. In this context, a common theme is the design of ornamental patterns and their use as structural building blocks of complex pattern assemblies bringing into the spotlight the interplay between aesthetics and mechanical properties. In this thesis, we investigate and propose a novel pipeline for designing and efficiently simulating complex pattern tessellations. The thesis presents 3 main contributions. The first one targets the scarcity of open and efficient simulation tools by proposing a computational tool for predicting the static-equilibrium of general bending-active structures which is accompanied by an efficient open-source implementation. Our second contribution is a novel approach for generating a wide range of flat patterns with favorable fabrication-related properties. The third is a computational method for calibrating a reduced mechanical model for each generated pattern enabling the interactive simulation of complex pattern assemblies.Project(s): EVOCATION