Grow-contact simulation of hybrid joints for living architectures

Abstract

Hybrid joints consist of living trees and industrial materials are the solutions to realize the living architectures. However, the mechanism of grow-contact-swallow behavior remains ambiguous. Some computational graphical methods have struggled to generate the tree geometry. However, physical features such as stiffness were not considered. In this paper, we proposed a grow-contact simulation method for describing the swallowing process to generate hybrid joints. Our temporal evolution approach is implemented using the Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline curves, and the genetic algorithms. We formulate the grow-contact process as a solution for optimization problem that leads to the state with minimal total generalized potential energy. We conclude that the simulation results explain 4 general contact behaviors, concerning stiffness, and the age of the tree as the mechanical metrics. Especially for swallowing behavior, the three-dimensional geometry prediction shows potential for the design of hybrid joints for living architectures.