About the lecture
Innovative and efficient designs of structures can be achieved by using optimisation techniques to minimise the material usage and maximise the structural performance. The bi-directional evolutionary structural optimisation (BESO) method, originally proposed by Professor Yi Min ‘Mike’ Xie and his co-workers, has been well developed for this purpose. BESO is based on the simple concept of gradually removing inefficient material from a structure and, at the same time, adding material to the most needed locations. Such a simple but universally applicable technique can be utilised to not only reduce the weight and the associated energy consumption of aircraft and motor vehicles but also generate strikingly elegant structural designs of buildings and bridges.
This seminar will present the latest developments of the BESO method and demonstrate a wide range of practical applications including spectacular buildings, long-span bridges, unmanned aircraft, exquisite furniture, and so on. The talk will also show how such beautiful and organic designs can be realised by using advanced manufacturing technologies including 3D printing.
