Computational Design Optimization of Large-Scale Building Structures: Methods, Benchmarking & Applications
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Sheffield
Department Name: Civil and Structural Engineering
Abstract
Recent years have seen an explosion in the number of large-scale structures such as tall buildings and long span roofs (e.g. all but one of the world's 20 tallest buildings was constructed in the last 15 years, almost all of which are over 400m in height; furthermore, it has recently been estimated that 4 million skyscrapers of 40 stories will be required by 2050 to accommodate worldwide urban population growth). However, currently the forms of such structures are usually identified in an ad-hoc manner, with very limited application of optimization techniques, despite the fact that such techniques are now routinely used in other industrial sectors (e.g. automotive and aerospace). This means that material consumption and associated greenhouse gas emissions will often be far higher than necessary, and novel structural configurations which permit inclusion of energy efficient features such as light wells or atriums will often be overlooked.
In this project highly efficient mathematical optimization methods will be developed specifically for large-scale building structures, and used to automatically identify efficient layouts of structural elements. This will enable determination of the 'absolute minimum material reference design' for a given design brief, providing a powerful new means of evaluating the relative efficiency of alternative structural layouts. Methods will also be developed to automatically generate simpler and more practical structural layouts, which consume little more material than the absolute minimum quantity.
The methods will be used to identify structurally efficient layouts for a range of applications, including tall building exoskeleton design and long-span canopy roof design. Considering tall buildings, a recent development has been the use of exoskeleton 'diagrids', which give a clear expression of the structural system, and are perceived to be more efficient than conventional solutions. However, the use of any predefined configuration will implicitly inhibit efficiency and vast numbers of alternative layouts will be able to be considered using the tools to be developed in this project. Considering long-span canopy roofs, such as those used in sports stadia, exhibition halls and factories, reducing material consumption by adopting a more efficient layout of elements leads to a 'virtuous circle' since as structural self-weight is reduced, so does the amount of structural material required to support this.
The project will result in the development of practical tools and guidance for practitioners, and educational materials for students. Successful delivery of the research can be expected to dramatically improve the ability of engineers to design structurally efficient large-scale buildings.
In this project highly efficient mathematical optimization methods will be developed specifically for large-scale building structures, and used to automatically identify efficient layouts of structural elements. This will enable determination of the 'absolute minimum material reference design' for a given design brief, providing a powerful new means of evaluating the relative efficiency of alternative structural layouts. Methods will also be developed to automatically generate simpler and more practical structural layouts, which consume little more material than the absolute minimum quantity.
The methods will be used to identify structurally efficient layouts for a range of applications, including tall building exoskeleton design and long-span canopy roof design. Considering tall buildings, a recent development has been the use of exoskeleton 'diagrids', which give a clear expression of the structural system, and are perceived to be more efficient than conventional solutions. However, the use of any predefined configuration will implicitly inhibit efficiency and vast numbers of alternative layouts will be able to be considered using the tools to be developed in this project. Considering long-span canopy roofs, such as those used in sports stadia, exhibition halls and factories, reducing material consumption by adopting a more efficient layout of elements leads to a 'virtuous circle' since as structural self-weight is reduced, so does the amount of structural material required to support this.
The project will result in the development of practical tools and guidance for practitioners, and educational materials for students. Successful delivery of the research can be expected to dramatically improve the ability of engineers to design structurally efficient large-scale buildings.
Planned Impact
This project will enable construction professionals to rapidly evaluate and optimize structural layouts for large-scale buildings, benefitting their clients and society at large, through lower cost, lower impact, buildings.
Structural engineering designers will benefit by having access to computational tools which allow the efficiency of proposed designs to be objectively judged, and new, highly efficient, designs to be automatically generated. In the short-term this will provide UK construction professionals with a competitive advantage, and will maintain their international reputation as pioneers of state-of-the-art technology. Their clients will also benefit by having access to more efficient designs, and a benchmark against which to compare design options, allowing them to commission buildings which are cheaper and/or have a lower carbon footprint, contributing to the UK government's target of halving the greenhouse gas emissions associated with construction by 2025. With compact connected cities regarded as a sustainable means of accommodating the rising global population, the number of large-scale buildings in the world is set to grow rapidly. Society at large will therefore also benefit from the research, through the availability of buildings which in future cost less and require less resources to construct.
Close cooperation with the collaborating practitioners will ensure that the methods developed are relevant and useful, and take account of both current and emerging fabrication techniques (e.g. additive manufacturing techniques, which allow bespoke 3D printed metallic joints, meaning that designs that have been difficult to fabricate in the past are unlikely to be so in the future). Practical guidance and demonstration software will also be developed for use by practitioners (see 'Pathways to Impact' document).
The project focuses on the design of large-scale buildings, where the form of the structure has a major impact on the volume of materials required. Also, because of the high loads in large buildings, bespoke elements are generally already necessary, so that there will often be relatively little overhead associated with adopting novel, highly optimized, designs. However, there is also scope for many of the techniques developed to feed into smaller-scale building design, using flagship large-scale building case studies to drive interest. Also, given the generic nature of many of the methods to be developed, these are likely to also benefit professionals involved in the design of components and structures in other sectors, such as bridge engineering, aerospace, automotive and space. Findings will be disseminated in sector-specific publications and/or software so as to maximise the potential for impact, leveraging existing links in these sectors (e.g. Gilbert is regularly invited to speak at UK bridge engineering conferences and is currently involved in the Innovate UK 'ANVIL' project, ref. 101483, involving aerospace, automotive and space sector industry partners).
Structural engineering designers will benefit by having access to computational tools which allow the efficiency of proposed designs to be objectively judged, and new, highly efficient, designs to be automatically generated. In the short-term this will provide UK construction professionals with a competitive advantage, and will maintain their international reputation as pioneers of state-of-the-art technology. Their clients will also benefit by having access to more efficient designs, and a benchmark against which to compare design options, allowing them to commission buildings which are cheaper and/or have a lower carbon footprint, contributing to the UK government's target of halving the greenhouse gas emissions associated with construction by 2025. With compact connected cities regarded as a sustainable means of accommodating the rising global population, the number of large-scale buildings in the world is set to grow rapidly. Society at large will therefore also benefit from the research, through the availability of buildings which in future cost less and require less resources to construct.
Close cooperation with the collaborating practitioners will ensure that the methods developed are relevant and useful, and take account of both current and emerging fabrication techniques (e.g. additive manufacturing techniques, which allow bespoke 3D printed metallic joints, meaning that designs that have been difficult to fabricate in the past are unlikely to be so in the future). Practical guidance and demonstration software will also be developed for use by practitioners (see 'Pathways to Impact' document).
The project focuses on the design of large-scale buildings, where the form of the structure has a major impact on the volume of materials required. Also, because of the high loads in large buildings, bespoke elements are generally already necessary, so that there will often be relatively little overhead associated with adopting novel, highly optimized, designs. However, there is also scope for many of the techniques developed to feed into smaller-scale building design, using flagship large-scale building case studies to drive interest. Also, given the generic nature of many of the methods to be developed, these are likely to also benefit professionals involved in the design of components and structures in other sectors, such as bridge engineering, aerospace, automotive and space. Findings will be disseminated in sector-specific publications and/or software so as to maximise the potential for impact, leveraging existing links in these sectors (e.g. Gilbert is regularly invited to speak at UK bridge engineering conferences and is currently involved in the Innovate UK 'ANVIL' project, ref. 101483, involving aerospace, automotive and space sector industry partners).
Organisations
- University of Sheffield (Lead Research Organisation)
- Ramboll (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
- Aecom (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
- Ove Arup and Partners Ltd (Global) (Project Partner)
- BuroHappold (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
- Expedition (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
- Steel Construction Institute (Project Partner)
- Institution of Structural Engineers (Project Partner)
Publications
Weldeyesus A
(2020)
Truss geometry and topology optimization with global stability constraints
in Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization
Weldeyesus A
(2019)
Adaptive solution of truss layout optimization problems with global stability constraints
in Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization
Salt S
(2022)
Layout optimization of pin-jointed truss structures with minimum frequency constraints
in Engineering Optimization
Pearson JW
(2017)
Fast interior point solution of quadratic programming problems arising from PDE-constrained optimization.
in Numerische mathematik
Nanayakkara K
(2020)
A simple layout optimization formulation for load-carrying tensegrity structures
in Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization
Lu H
(2018)
Theoretically optimal bracing for pre-existing building frames
in Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization
Lu H
(2019)
Layout optimization of building frames subject to gravity and lateral load cases
in Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization
Lu H
(2021)
On transmissible load formulations in topology optimization
in Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization
Description | The project has led to the development of powerful new computational techniques that allow structurally efficient forms for structures forming buildings and bridges to be identified. These can help engineers to produce more efficient desgns with lower carbon footprints. |
Exploitation Route | Via accessing publications written by project personnel and using the software tools developed. |
Sectors | Construction |
Description | Methods developed in the project have been used to develop the LayOpt web app and the Peregrine optimization tool, a plugin for the widely used Rhino/Grasshopper software. The Peregrine plugin is regularly updated, with version 7.0 released in February 2024. This has enabled the methods developed in the project to be used by companies working in the construction and manufacturing sectors. |
First Year Of Impact | 2020 |
Sector | Construction,Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Manufacturing, including Industrial Biotechology |
Impact Types | Societal Economic |
Description | Video cited as a "recommended resource" on IStructE's Sustainability Resource Map published in January 2022 |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Contribution to new or Improved professional practice |
Title | Electronic supplementary material for the paper: "Layout optimization of pin-jointed truss structures with minimum frequency constraints" |
Description | Data files include details of all inputs and the results obtained for the Hemp cantilever and MBB beam examples described in the paper "Layout optimization of pin-jointed truss structures with minimum frequency constraints" |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://figshare.shef.ac.uk/articles/dataset/Electronic_supplementary_material_for_the_paper_Layout_... |
Title | LayOpt (layout optimization) web app |
Description | An interactive web app that allows users to rapidly identify the minimum volume layout (or "topology") of a truss. |
Type Of Technology | Webtool/Application |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Impact | This software is now being used by engineers to rapidly identify structurally efficient truss forms, inspiring greater use of such forms by engineers, and thereby reducing the carbon footprint of constructed infrastructure. (Journal paper describing the tool in more detail published in 2021.) |
URL | https://www.layopt.com |
Title | Peregrine optimization plugin |
Description | Peregrine is a powerful structural layout optimization plugin for Grasshopper, the popular algorithmic modelling environment built into the Rhino3D modelling software. Peregrine can be used to rapidly identify highly efficient (minimum volume) frame topologies for any given set of loads, supports and material properties. |
Type Of Technology | Software |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Impact | The software is already being piloted by major companies (e.g. Arup) on projects, and it is likely that structures designed using the software will be constructed in the near future. Over 1000 downloads recorded within 4 months of release. |
URL | https://limitstate3d.com/peregrine |
Description | Hands on workshop at BILT Europe 2019 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | We were invited to run a hands-on workshop at BILT Europe in Edinburgh in October 2019. This was an interactive "hands on" workshop attended by around 20 engineering practitioners from across Europe. An enhanced version of the optimization software prepared for previous workshops was used. This software helped to demonstrate the power of structural optimization in a sector unfamiliar with its application. Prior to the workshop interested delegates were also able to attend a 75 minute lecture covering background theory etc. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.dbeinstitute.org/event/bilt-europe-2019/schedule/ |
Description | Hands-On Optimization Workshop at the Building Centre, London |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | An interactive "hands on" workshop attended by around 20 engineering practitioners and students was held at the Building Centre in London in November 2018. Software originally prepared for a previous workshop, held at an IASS workshop at MIT some months earlier, was used at the workshop. This software helped to demonstrate the power of structural optimization in a sector unfamiliar with its application. Attendees included engineers from leading UK-based structural engineering consultancies. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | http://www.build-opt.org/news/2018/11/10/optimization-driven-conceptual-structural-design-workshop |
Description | IASS Invited Workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Ran a well-attended workshop on structural optimization, which included a keynote by Bill Baker of SOM, one of the world's leading structural engineers, as well as presentations covering project outcomes and use of the methods developed in the project by industry (delivered by colleagues from Arup). Led to requests on how to access the tools presented. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | http://congress.cimne.com/formandforce2019/frontal/Invited.asp |
Description | Invited online talk at the San Francisco Computational Design Institute (SFCDI) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Gave an invited online talk to a large online audience, publicising the Peregrine optimization plugin developed in EP/N023471/1. Designed to raise awareness and stimulate uptake. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-w-8BHOa8iE&t=528s |
Description | Optimization Workshop at IABSE Future of Design Conference |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | An interactive "hands on" workshop attended by around 40 engineering practitioners and students was held at the IABSE Future of Design Conference. Special software was prepared for the workshop, which helped to demonstrate the power of structural optimization in a sector unfamiliar with its application. Attendees included the President of the Institution of Structural Engineers, sparking a future collaboration and joint publication. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | http://iabse.org.uk/fod-sheffield-2017/ |
Description | Optimization-Driven Creativity In Structural Design Workshop (IASS 2018, MIT) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | A one day interactive "hands on" workshop attended by around 20 engineering practitioners and students was held at the 2018 IASS Annual Conference held at MIT. Special software was prepared for the workshop, which helped to demonstrate the power of structural optimization in a sector unfamiliar with its application. Attendees included engineers from leading international consultancies and researchers from prominent universities from around the world. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
URL | http://www.build-opt.org/news/2018/6/13/optimization-driven-creativity-in-structural-design-iass2018... |
Description | Peregrine dissemination webinars and workshops |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Two webinars and two online workshops were held over the period July-October 2020. These were attended by over 200 'live' participants, and subsequently watched by hundreds more. The aim of the events was to outline the power of layout optimization and to publicise developments to the Peregrine layout optimization plugin developed in EP/N023471/1. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVMhtSR4MlRHoPEX0DHfnUg |
Description | Presentation at Digital Construction Week (Excel Centre) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | Paul Shepherd presented his active research projects as a speaker at Digital Construction Week. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.digitalconstructionweek.com/ |
Description | Presentation at SCI Conference |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Delivered a presentation entitled "Computational layout optimization of building structures" at the SCI annual conference in November 2019. This sparked questions and increased awareness amongst delegates of the optimization technology developed as part of the research project. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Presentation at TOP Webinar |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Technical presentation at 2nd TOP Webinar, to a large online audience. Raised awareness of a stream of activity undertaken as part of the EPSRC research project EP/N023471/1, and marked the launch of the LayOpt interactive web app. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://topwebinar.weblog.tudelft.nl/webinar2/ |
Description | Presentation on optimisation-driven conceptual design of structures at University of Pecs, Hungary |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Gave a presentation on optimisation-driven conceptual design of structures to a diverse audience of >100 practitioners and students in Pecs, Hungary. Sparked interest in the techniques developed as part of the research project. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Presentation to Ecole des Ponts ParisTech (France) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Paul Shepherd presented his active research projects in-depth, during a talk to Staff, Postgraduates and Undergraduates at Ecole des Ponts ParisTech, France. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Presentation to Robert Bird Group (London Office) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Paul Shepherd presented his active research projects in-depth, during a CPD-style Lunchtime Talk to an office of Practicing Consultant Engineers. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Presentation to TonyGee & Partners (London Office) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Paul Shepherd presented his active research projects in-depth, during a CPD-style Lunchtime Talk to an office of Practicing Consultant Engineers. The talk was also live-streamed to the company's Dubai Office. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Presentation to TonyGee & Partners (Stroud Office) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Paul Shepherd presented his active research projects in-depth, during a CPD-style Lunchtime Talk to an office of Practicing Consultant Engineers. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Project dissemination event |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | In November 2019 we held a project dissemination event at the IStructE in London, attended physically or virtually by approx. 200 people. The event comprised (i) a half-day hands-on computer laboratory session, (ii) a half-day mini-conference, (iii) an evening lecture. The evening lecture was recorded and has been watched by >2000 people as of March 2020. Feedback was extremely positive, with many participants indicating that they now had a better understanding of the role and power of structural layout optimization. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | http://www.build-opt.org/news/istructe-nov19 |
Description | SCI Webinar: Designing lighter frameworks via layout optimization |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Delivered a webinar entitled "Designing lighter frameworks via layout optimization" to SCI members (primarily UK-based, but some international). This sparked questions and increased awareness amongst participants of the optimization technology developed as part of the research project. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Workshop at IStructE Digital Design & Computation Conference |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | We were invited to run a hands-on workshop at First IStructE Digital Design & Computation Conference, held on 28 March 2019. This was an interactive "hands on" workshop attended by around 30 engineering practitioners and students. An enhanced version of software prepared for previous workshops was used. This software helped to demonstrate the power of structural optimization in a sector unfamiliar with its application. Attendees included engineers from leading UK-based structural engineering consultancies. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |