Heinz Isler: shells for two churches

This paper describes the concept, design and realisation of two churches where Heinz Isler (1926-2009) was responsible for the structural design and in one case also for the architectural concept. One example, the Heilig Geist Kirche (Holy Spirit Church) Lommiswil, near Solothurn, Switzerland (1967) includes, unusually for Isler, a “hypar” shell whilst the other, the “Steinkirche” of the Evangelische Kirchgemeinde in Cazis, Switzerland (1996), is derived directly from given natural forms

A parametric study of alternative support systems for cylindrical GRP storage vessels

Paper presenting a parametric study of alternative support systems for cylindrical GRP storage vessels

Numerical analysis of a sling support arrangement for grp composite pressure vessels

A flexible sling support arrangement for horizontal glass reinforced plastic pressure vessels is examined using advanced finite element methods. A mathematical model is produced employing a suitable analysis capable of representing the non-linear behaviour of a sling supported GRP vessel. This system is used to examine the phenomena occurring at the interface between the vessel and the supporting belt. Each component is initially considered some distance apart and then brought together using three-dimensional contact surfaces. External loads are thereafter applied to the combined model. Although several numerical difficulties arise due to the difference in flexibility between the vessel shell and the sling support, these are overcome and the resulting vessel strains and contact interface pressures show good agreement with experimental work. The magnitudes of the strains at the location of the saddle horn are significantly reduced. Results of a parameter study are also presented which show the effect of the sling position together with the influence of the wrap-round angle and a number of recommendations are made with respect to design

Musical Viruses for graceful seduction

The +++ Wearable Player is a result of the application of the Rights through Making approach in designing wearables. This approach aims at designing systems, whose use empowers people towards the materialization of values (e.g. human rights). The +++ Wearable Player system elaborates on the previous project Sound Experience, and introduces the concept of viral music exchange as a motivating factor in the context of social health. This paper describes the morphological genesis, the functional aspects and how they have been implemented in a fully working experienceable prototype. The design process and its outcomes are illustrated, in the framework of the “changing behaviour” design trend

Collapse of orthotropic spherical shells

We report on the buckling and subsequent collapse of orthotropic elastic spherical shells under volume and pressure control. Going far beyond what is known for isotropic shells, a rich morphological phase space with three distinct regimes emerges upon variation of shell slenderness and degree of orthotropy. Our extensive numerical simulations are in agreement with experiments using fabricated polymer shells. The shell buckling pathways and corresponding strain energy evolution are shown to depend strongly on material orthotropy. We find surprisingly robust orthotropic structures with strong similarities to stomatocytes and tricolpate pollen grains, suggesting that the shape of several of Nature's collapsed shells could be understood from the viewpoint of material orthotropy.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure