A Novel Transformable Structural Mechanism for Doubly Ruled Hypar Surfaces

Abstract

A novel structural mechanism (SM) that is capable of transforming itself into various hyperbolic paraboloid (hypar) geometries is introduced in this paper. Composed of straight bars and novel joint types, the SM is designed based on the ruled surface generation method. Thus, the paper first investigates the geometrical properties and morphology of the hypar surface. Second, it constructs the SM and discusses its transformation capability with respect to its kinematic properties. Then, it presents a parametric model not only to analyze the geometry and possible configurations of the SM but also to prepare a model for the structural analysis. Finally, a transformable shelter structure is proposed as an architectural application of the SM and its feasibility is tested based on the structural analysis conducted in different configurations of the structure. According to the results of the structural analysis, the strength, and the stiffness of the structure are discussed in detail.