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Integrative Computational Design and Construction for Architecture (T3.0)
Research
Associated Projects
AP 1 – Responsive Autonomous Surface Structures

Responsive Autonomous Surface Structures

Associated Project 1 (AP 1)

RESPONSIVE AUTONOMOUS SURFACE STRUCTURES INSPIRED BY PASSIVE MULTI-PHASE PLANT MOVEMENT

The built environment is responsible for a major part of global energy consumption, which makes weather responsive adaptive building envelopes increasingly important. While weather responsive architecture is typically conceived as an added function with numerous sensing, actuating and regulating devices, a fundamentally different design strategy for environmental responsiveness has evolved in biological systems. Hygroscopically actuated plant structures present biological concept generators for the development of weather-adaptive, autonomously actuated, passive building envelopes.

The aim of this research project is to identify construction and functional principles of plant structures at various hierarchical levels that will be abstracted and implemented into adaptive architectural systems. The project focuses on structures that perform multi-phase motion, i.e. sequences of diverse motion steps. The individual movement steps can either take place one after the other or represent individual reactions to different stimuli, which will lead to diverse, versatile bionic kinetic structures. In order to achieve the transfer to technology, the development of a new class of 3D-printable hydrogel assemblies, as well as their integration in new environmentally responsive architectural envelopes will be undertaken.

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS

Prof. Achim Menges
Institute for Computational Design and Construction (ICD), University of Stuttgart
Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Manfred Bischoff
Institut für Baustatik und Baudynamik (IBB), University of Stuttgart

RESEARCHERS

Yasaman Tahouni (ICD)
Rebecca Thierer (IBB)
Dylan Wood (ICD)

PARTNERS

Prof. Dr. Thomas Speck, Dr. Simon Poppinga, Plant Biomechanics Group, University of Freiburg
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Rühe, Friederike Krüger, Department of Microsystems Engineering, Chemistry and Physics of Interfaces, University of Freiburg

FUNDING
Ministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst (MWK -33-7533.-30-121/15/3)

PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS

2022
1. Tahouni, Y., Cheng, T., Lajewski, S., Benz, J., Bonten, C., Wood, D., & Menges, A. (2022). Codesign of Biobased Cellulose-Filled Filaments and Mesostructures for 4D Printing Humidity Responsive Smart Structures. 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing. https://doi.org/10.1089/3dp.2022.0061
  - BibTeX
  BibTeX
  @article{Tahouni_2022, author = {Tahouni, Yasaman and Cheng, Tiffany and Lajewski, Silvia and Benz, Johannes and Bonten, Christian and Wood, Dylan and Menges, Achim}, doi = {10.1089/3dp.2022.0061}, journal = {3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing}, month = {12}, publisher = {Mary Ann Liebert Inc}, title = {Codesign of Biobased Cellulose-Filled Filaments and Mesostructures for 4D Printing Humidity Responsive Smart Structures}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1089%2F3dp.2022.0061}, year = 2022 }
2021
1. Krüger, F., Thierer, R., Tahouni, Y., Sachse, R., Wood, D., Menges, A., Bischoff, M., & Rühe, J. (2021). Development of a Material Design Space for 4D-Printed Bio-Inspired Hygroscopically Actuated Bilayer Structures with Unequal Effective Layer Widths. Biomimetics, 6(4), Article 4. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics6040058
  - BibTeX
  BibTeX
  @article{Kr_ger_2021, abstract = {(1) Significance of geometry for bio-inspired hygroscopically actuated bilayer structures is well studied and can be used to fine-tune curvatures in many existent material systems. We developed a material design space to find new material combinations that takes into account unequal effective widths of the layers, as commonly used in fused filament fabrication, and deflections under self-weight. (2) For this purpose, we adapted Timoshenko’s model for the curvature of bilayer strips and used an established hygromorphic 4D-printed bilayer system to validate its ability to predict curvatures in various experiments. (3) The combination of curvature evaluation with simple, linear beam deflection calculations leads to an analytical solution space to study influences of Young’s moduli, swelling strains and densities on deflection under self-weight and curvature under hygroscopic swelling. It shows that the choice of the ratio of Young’s moduli can be crucial for achieving a solution that is stable against production errors. (4) Under the assumption of linear material behavior, the presented development of a material design space allows selection or design of a suited material combination for application-specific, bio-inspired bilayer systems with unequal layer widths.}, author = {Krüger, Friederike and Thierer, Rebecca and Tahouni, Yasaman and Sachse, Renate and Wood, Dylan and Menges, Achim and Bischoff, Manfred and Rühe, Jürgen}, doi = {10.3390/biomimetics6040058}, journal = {Biomimetics}, month = {10}, number = 4, pages = 58, publisher = {MDPI AG}, title = {Development of a Material Design Space for 4D-Printed Bio-Inspired Hygroscopically Actuated Bilayer Structures with Unequal Effective Layer Widths}, url = {https://doi.org/10.3390%2Fbiomimetics6040058}, volume = 6, year = 2021 }
2. Tahouni, Y., Krüger, F., Poppinga, S., Wood, D., Pfaff, M., Rühe, J., Speck, T., & Menges, A. (2021). Programming sequential motion steps in 4D-printed hygromorphs by architected mesostructure and differential hygro-responsiveness. Bioinspiration & Biomimetics. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-3190/ac0c8e
  - BibTeX
  BibTeX
  @article{tahouni2021programming, abstract = {Through their anisotropic cellular mesostructure and differential swelling and shrinkingproperties, hygroscopic plant structures move in response to changes in the environment withoutconsuming metabolic energy. When the movement is choreographed in sequential time steps,either in individual structures or with a coordinated interplay of various structural elements,complex functionalities such as dispersal and protection of seeds are achieved. Inspired by themulti-phase motion in plant structures, this paper presents a method to physically program thetimescale and the sequences of shape-change in 4D-printed hygromorphic structures. Using theFDM 3D-printing method, we have developed multi-layered, multi-material functional bilayersthat combine highly hygroscopic active layers (printed with hygroscopic bio-composite materials)with hydrophobic restrictive and blocking layers (printed with PLA and TPC materials). Thetimescale of motion is programmed through the design of the mesostructured layers and3D-printing process parameters, including thickness (number of printed active layers), porosity(filling ratio of the active layer), and water permeability (filling ratio of the blocking layer).Through a series of experiments, it is shown that the timescale of motion can be extended byincreasing the thickness of the active layer, decreasing the porosity of the active layer, or increasingthe filling ratio of the hydrophobic restrictive and blocking layers. Similarly, a lower thickness of theactive layer and lower filling ratio of all layers result in a faster motion. As a proof of concept, wedemonstrate several prototypes that exhibit sequential motion, including an aperture withoverlapping elements where each completes its movement sequentially to avoid collision, and aself-locking mechanism where defined areas of the structure are choreographed to achieve amulti-step self-shaping and locking function. The presented method extends the programmabilityand the functional capabilities of hygromorphic 4D-printing, allowing for novel applications acrossfields such as robotics, smart actuators, and adaptive architecture.}, author = {Tahouni, Yasaman and Krüger, Friederike and Poppinga, Simon and Wood, Dylan and Pfaff, Matthias and Rühe, Jürgen and Speck, Thomas and Menges, Achim}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-3190/ac0c8e}, journal = {Bioinspiration & Biomimetics}, title = {Programming sequential motion steps in 4D-printed hygromorphs by architected mesostructure and differential hygro-responsiveness }, year = 2021 }
2020
1. Correa, D., Poppinga, S., Mylo, M., Westermeier, A., Bruchmann, B., Menges, A., & Speck, T. (2020). 4D pine scale: biomimetic 4D printed autonomous scale and flap structures capable of multi-phase movement. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, 378, 20190445. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2019.0445
  - BibTeX
  BibTeX
  @article{correa_4d_2020, author = {Correa, David and Poppinga, Simon and Mylo, Max and Westermeier, Anna and Bruchmann, Bernd and Menges, Achim and Speck, Thomas}, doi = {10.1098/rsta.2019.0445}, journal = {Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A}, pages = 20190445, title = {{4D} pine scale: biomimetic {4D} printed autonomous scale and flap structures capable of multi-phase movement}, volume = 378, year = 2020 }
2. Poppinga, S., Correa, D., Bruchmann, B., Menges, A., & Speck, T. (2020). Plant Movements as Concept Generators for the Development of Biomimetic Compliant Mechanisms. Integrative and Comparative Biology, 60(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icaa028
  - BibTeX
  BibTeX
  @article{poppinga_plant_2020, author = {Poppinga, Simon and Correa, David and Bruchmann, Bernd and Menges, Achim and Speck, Thomas}, doi = {10.1093/icb/icaa028}, journal = {Integrative and Comparative Biology}, number = 1, pages = {1--11}, title = {Plant {Movements} as {Concept} {Generators} for the {Development} of {Biomimetic} {Compliant} {Mechanisms}}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icaa028}, volume = 60, year = 2020 }
3. Tahouni, Y., Cheng, T., Wood, D., Sachse, R., Thierer, R., Bischoff, M., & Menges, A. (2020). Self-shaping Curved Folding: a 4D-printing method for fabrication of curved creased origami structures. Symposium on Computational Fabrication (SCF ’20). https://doi.org/10.1145/3424630.3425416
  - BibTeX
  BibTeX
  @article{tahouni2020selfshaping, author = {Tahouni, Yasaman and Cheng, Tiffany and Wood, Dylan and Sachse, Renate and Thierer, Rebecca and Bischoff, Manfred and Menges, Achim}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1145/3424630.3425416}, journal = {Symposium on Computational Fabrication (SCF '20)}, title = {Self-shaping Curved Folding: a 4D-printing method for fabrication of curved creased origami structures}, year = 2020 }

OTHER PUBLICATIONS

2020
1. Menges, A., & Reichert, S. (2020). Seeking Material Capacity and Embedded Responsiveness: Design and Fabrication of Physically Programmed Architectural Constructs. In M. Kanaani (Ed.), The Routledge Companion to Paradigms of Performativity in Design and Architecture: Using Time to Craft an Enduring, Resilient and Relevant Architecture (pp. 240--259). Routledge.
  - BibTeX
  BibTeX
  @incollection{kanaani_seeking_2020, author = {Menges, Achim and Reichert, Steffen}, booktitle = {The {Routledge} {Companion} to {Paradigms} of {Performativity} in {Design} and {Architecture}: {Using} {Time} to {Craft} an {Enduring}, {Resilient} and {Relevant} {Architecture}}, editor = {Kanaani, Mitra}, isbn = {9780429021640}, pages = {240--259}, publisher = {Routledge}, title = {Seeking {Material} {Capacity} and {Embedded} {Responsiveness}: {Design} and {Fabrication} of {Physically} {Programmed} {Architectural} {Constructs}}, year = 2020 }

DATA SETS

Prof. Dr. Cordula Kropp

Board of Directors

Phone: +49 711 685 83971

E-Mail

Prof. Achim Menges

Director

Phone: +49 711 685 82786

E-Mail

Tenure-Track Prof. Dr. Thomas Wortmann

Cluster Professor

Phone: +49 711 685 81933

E-Mail