Exploring rules to be used in scripting

Set of rules:

• At each junction meet 3 lines. sum of angles equals concequently 360 degrees.
  
• lines are always perpendicular to main branch.
• wire frame consists of pentagons and hexagons
• all angles between all lines are < 180 degrees
  
• scale of polygons can relatively vary with a ratio of 1:2
  

Optimizing tool:

• use the least total distance of lines to cover the surface
  
• achieve the optimal configuration of pentagons perpendicular to main branch, pentagons and hexagons in between the boundaries of the main branches.
• the surface of polygons is always outlined by the main branches. these will be the independent variables in GC.
  

Principles occuring in radiolarian structures

Radiolarian structure analysis & basic principles:

the radiolarian structure (type: Litarachnium) I want to work with, can be abstacted in a basic set of a main skeleton structure, connected to a wireframe of hexagons and pentagons.
The first will be the input of the computational optimizing tool and the lather will be the output, reconfigurated by the computational optimizing tool. Please take a look at the next image for more explaination.



basic principles of litharachnium_polyhydrons

The C60 molecular structure is based on the same principle of the combination of hexa- and pentagonal surface parts. Please take a look at the next illustrations.


Icosahedral global minimal structures
(http://physchem.ox.ac.uk/~doye/jon/structures/Morse/paper/node6.html)

Process of transformation:

1. accept the fact that this structure functions optimal for this type of radiolarion in its own environment (to prove it in diana or GC (??) will cause a time problem).
2. Apply wind forces and dead weight on the same structure. analyse what the problem areas will be in the main structure. and re-define a new main structure to use as input.
3. create the model and the basic rules in GC. Implement the loop tool.
4. Re-arrrange and optimize the wireframe according to the new input (basic structure) with help of the finite elements loop tool. The loop tool will help to find the optimal configurations of the hexa- and pentagonal wireframe in combination with the new basic structure.

Possible future applications:

it will be able to import any basic shape of main skeleton into GC - loop tool. The tool will find the optimal configuation of the hexa- and pentagonal wireframe of sub beams.

Final final final goal:

Designing/building a pavilion constructed out of silicon (glass) and some type of raisin. Because, if my hypothesis* appears to be true, I would like to search for a way of building a structure in radiolarian style. And that would hypothetically be in a glass composite.

*Adjusted (has to be reformulated) Hypothesis:

It will be feasible to build a structure of a pavilion out of a glass-raisin composite (tested in Diana), if the basic principles of this specific type of radiolari are extracted, re-defined and optimized via a computational tool in GC.

Notes:

note 1: I'm planning to contact Fred Veer in order to discuss the materialization of glass-raisin. For this course I want to test the optimal structure materialized in glass making use of a Diana simulation. In order to test my hypothesis!

note 2: I also did try to understand an algorithm used to solve an issue called the Traveling salesman problem (TSP) using Simulated Annealing. This algorithm optimizes a travelling path.
Via the following link you can do a little game, using Simulated Annealing, to understand the principle.

http://www.math.uu.nl/people/beukers/anneal/anneal.html

I'm expecting that the loop tool in GC also applies a similar algorithm. is this right Michela?

note 3: today I visited Jaap Kaandorp, he is a professor in biology and works at the computational science department of the science faculty of the university of Amsterdam. He explained me quite some interesting principles concerning micro structures, like sponges and radiolaria. He helped me to get a little bit deeper into the subject and that made me able to extract some usefull principles to work on during this course.

Method of modelling

I've decided to start modelling using lines and points in G.C. (taking Ardrew's advise into account)

Logarithmic Spiral?!

Yesterday evening I've spoken to John Videler, a professor in maritime zoology (RUG). He pointed out that there are some interesting basis principles which are still not clarified by scientific research. One of them is:

http://mathworld.wolfram.com/LogarithmicSpiral.html

I'm considering this as an option for further research. The principle could be parametrisized in G.C and try to find out why this form seems to be a general principle in nature. Is there a link to radiolaria? And does it have the same qualities applied in the field of architecture?

Proposal of type 2: Lampromitra (nassellaria)

Second proposal of a specific type to be further examined in my research

The last two days I'm trying to get in touch with an expert in this field (radiolaria). I've found some people doing research about topics like sponges, foraminifera or other protista. I will might visit Naturalis in Leiden next week, to see some real tests of protista and speak to an expert in sponges. I will revise my hypothesis in the weekend. From tomorrow 14:00 untill friday I will be in the faculty participating the 23-hours-workshop Built in Emotion.

Proposal of type 1: Pteroscenium (nassellaria)

First proposal of a specific type to be further examined in my research

IN GENERAL about radiolarians

Physiology of radiolarian

diagram of the relation between the soft parts within a radiolarian

I assume that there is a direct relationship between the soft- and the hard parts (skeleton) of the radiolarian. But I can not prove this yet. needs more research.

Orders, generations & family's of radiolarians
Within the extremely large number of existing radiolarian species, there are (at least) two major extant groups to be clearly distinguished.



Type I'm interested in
I have decided to base my research on either Spumellaria or Nassellaria. Those orders are the best known by geologists and in my opinion they have the most spatial qualities aswell. The Spumellaria could be used as a basis for an architectural roof construction while the Nassellaria could be translated into a complete pavilion. I will specify myself more on this in a later post.


first 3 sketches are spumellaria & last 3 are nasselaria

Some other basic principles:
Radiolarians exist for 600 million years. There lifespan lies between a few days and 2 weeks. Radiolaria evolve rapidly, that's why they are really usefull biostratigraphic (study of the spatial and temporal distribution of fossil organisms) tools. Because they exist out of soft and hard parts, the fossils are never complete, this applied difficulties in research.

Structural principles of skeleton:
- skeletal elements do not meet at the center even if they are radial symmetrical. - their are materialized out of minerals
- (i will get to the different types of radiolarians and zoom in for more info)

Growing principles of skeleton:
- Skeletal elements are covered with a layer of cytoplasm which is rapidly withdrawn if the organism is disturbed. It is suggested new material is formed within this sheath (cytokalyamma) and that it acts somehow like a dynamic mould.
- Almost nothing is known as to the hard parts of radiolaria, except that the vacuolated layer (see first diagram of this post) is able to secrete silica or other mineral substance.
- The evoluation of the skeleton of both Spumellaria and Nassillaria is described in the picture below.


evoluation process of Spumellaria (src: C. Moore, Treatise on Invertebrate Peleontology)


evoluation process of nassellaria (src: C. Moore, Treatise on Invertebrate Peleontology)