The lattice configurations of conventional trusses follow the Euclidean geometric system. However, in the nature and in mathematics there exists another new and an interesting geometric system, known as ‘fractal geometry’. Here, the fractal geometric system has been applied to design a structural truss, named as ‘FracTruss’.
The geometric model of the ‘FracTruss’ is a transformation of a simple mathematical function that is based on the notion of fractal geometry lied in the Hausdorff metric space. Iterated Function System (IFS) has been used as a device for this transformation.
The model has been made parametric such a way that (a) the overall geometry can be deformed by the changing of its base angles, (b) the height can be adjusted and (c) the lattice can be made denser or lighter using the parameter of iteration. With the changing of the above parameters, the Hausdorff Fractal Dimension is also changed. Play the following video to see how the parameters changes the model and its fractal dimension.
The geometric model has been transformed into a Finite Element Model for the structural analysis. The Karamba has been used for the finite element analysis. Different parameters result different stiffness of the truss. Galapagos, a computational search algorithm component, has been used to get the best configuration in terms of high stiffness of the structure.
Architecture, Fractal & Nature 