Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T18:18:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Joao Fernando Igansi Nunes.pdf: 4495360 bytes, checksum: ae12b6f0373416f173754c6846dfd880 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-05-04 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The language is a machine and the design that shapes it, it is another one, as well as the machine is the whole model (Techno Aristotelian) of discourses that conceptualize it: Computational Design in the rule is applying the rule(s). The study of Computational Design: communication of in-visible, presents the configuration of Cultural Interfaces, discourse machines derived from the fixed communication codes (paradigm of manufacturing) in the current state of the informational diagrammatic machines for executable codes (the programming paradigm). This thesis, in the context of the new communication technologies searches to detail the specifics of practice and rhetoric (critical and creative) of the executable codes, those belonging to the creative processes that brought the call of Computational Design: The design resulting from a procedural state generated in the programmed action of the algorithms in their code share operations. Thus, the investigation intersects language, machine and technique, interaction and respective aesthetic results coming from the "culture of software." The idea of building a systematic study on the state of computational design, as well as the quest for the understanding of the latest executable codes communication status, finds its main methodological references in the proposal of John B. Thompson (1995) for analysis of symbolic forms. Under specific circumstances, this proposal organizes the discussion about the nature of the syntax on the current design production on their respective fundaments. Computational Design, on and off line, it is the condition of any additional operation between human systems and machines, and as such it is perceived to sensations and perceptions of both. Within this sphere of the senses, the action of these intelligent languages, matrices that re-match in each logical dimension of events sharing and updates, produce identification and the mapping of the model (ruled by writing) that is perceived (ruled by reading). The "computational thinking" that generated the status of language is logic-processing and production of meta-signs, which is the relationship between the technical content and the technological content of communication that operates and that is based on the theories of post-structuralist authors such as Roland Barthes, Jacques Derrida, Félix Guattari, and the current criticism of Lev Manovich, Katherine Hayles, Florian Cramer, Jean-Pierre Balpe, Margot Lovejoy, Paul Fishwick and Matthew Fuller on the informational and computational media aesthetics. This "computational thinking" which is located in the structures of language algorithms evolves from modern diagrammatic state in the technical imaginary to a technological imaginary emerging from what was known from the twentieth century as Hypermodernism. The observations and analysis of that work were built under the theoretical and practical contributions of Martin Wattenberg, John Maeda, Golan Levin, Benjamin Fry, Markamerica, Mark Napier and Santiago Ortiz / A linguagem é uma máquina e o design que a modela é outra, assim como também máquina é todo o modelo (techne aristotélica) dos discursos que os conceituam: No Design Computacional a regra é aplicar regra(s). O estudo Design Computacional: comunicação do in-visível, problematiza a configuração das Interfaces Culturais, máquinas de discursos advindas da comunicação dos códigos fixos (paradigma da fabricação) no atual estado das máquinas diagramáticas informacionais dos códigos executáveis (paradigma da programação). A presente Tese, no contexto das novas tecnologias da comunicação busca particularizar as especificidades da prática e da retórica (crítica e criativa) dos códigos executáveis, aqueles pertencentes aos processos criativos do que se instaurou chamar de Design Computacional: o design resultante de um estado processual gerado na ação programada do código algorítmico em sua respectiva ação de funcionamento. Para tanto, a investigação intersecta linguagem, máquina e técnica, interação e respectivos resultados estéticos advindos da cultura do software . A idéia de se construir um estudo sistemático sobre o estado do design computacional, bem como a busca da compreensão do mais novo estatuto da comunicação dos códigos executáveis, encontra suas principais referências metodológicas na proposta de John B. Thompson (1995) para análise das formas simbólicas. Em circunstâncias específicas, a presente proposta organiza a discussão sobre a natureza da sintaxe sígnifica da produção atual desse design em seus respectivos fundamentos. Design Computacional, on e off line, faz-se existir pela condição de operação complementar entre sistemas humanos e maquínicos e, como tal, faz-se perceptível às sensações e percepções de ambos. Dentro desta esfera dos sentidos, a ação dessas linguagens inteligentes, matrizes que se re-combinam em cada dimensão lógica de compartilhamento de eventos e atualizações, produzem a identificação e o mapeamento do modelo (pela regra escrita) que é percebido (pela regra lida). O pensamento computacional gerado nesse estatuto de linguagem é lógica de processamento e produção de meta-signos, constitui-se nas relações entre o conteúdo técnico e o seu respectivo conteúdo tecnológico da comunicação que opera e tem como base as teorias pós-estruturalistas de autores como: Roland Barthes, Jacques Derrida, Felix Guattari, bem como as atuais críticas de Lev Manovich, Katherine Hayles, Florian Cramer, Jean-Pierre Balpe, Margot Lovejoy, Paul Fishwick e Mattheu Fuller sobre o estado informacional e estético dos meios computacionais. Situado nas estruturas de linguagens algorítmicas, esse pensamento computacional evolui de um estado diagramático moderno residente no imaginário técnico para um imaginário tecnológico emergente daquilo que ficou conhecido a partir do século XX, como Hipermodernismo. As observações e análises desse trabalho construiram-se ainda sob o aporte teórico e prático de Martin Wattenberg, John Maeda, Golan Levin, Benjamin Fry, Markamerica, Mark Napier e Santiago Ortiz

The goal of this research is to investigate computational and experimental techniques to effectively analyze microscale fluid dynamics, transport, and mixing of an analyte-antibody system. This work is applicable to the development of an in-plane, passive mixer component of a miniature antibody-based sensor suitable for environmental monitoring, food testing, and medical diagnostics. The computational methods allow the efficient evaluation of microchannel designs to enhance analyte-antibody binding, which may reduce the time and cost required for experimental trials. We describe a computational algorithm to solve the governing equations for microscale fluid flow and transport in complex 2-D domains created through a graphical user interface. We implement the particle strength exchange method to solve the convection-diffusion-reaction equations, coupled to the boundary element method to compute the velocity field from the steady state Stokes equations. We validate the numerical methods by comparison to analytical and finite element method solutions. Because the chosen methods require no internal mesh, our algorithm provides an efficient alternative to grid-based methods when solving transport in complex geometries with internal obstacles. We characterize two fluorescein-antibody clones through competitive ELISA experiments and demonstrate the quenching effect of the antibodies with a fluorescence spectrophotometer. We describe a microchannel flow system to image the quenching of fluorescence by the antibody when fluorescein and fluorescein-antibody solutions are injected into separate inlets of the microchannel. We correlate the fluorescence intensity of microscope images of fluorescein flowing through the microchannel to concentrations of fluorescein to establish a calibration curve. This system provides a method to visualize and quantitatively analyze the mixing and reaction in a microfluidic device. We test the numerical methods by comparing the experimentally determined fluorescein concentration to the outlet amount numerically predicted by the computational model under identical conditions and find good agreement between the two fluorescein concentration profiles. We complete the transport-reaction computation in a set of microchannels with cylindrical obstructions. We find that decreasing the channel width and increasing the fluid path length by placing the obstruction on the walls is more effective than placing free-standing obstructions within the channel to enhance the fluorescein and fluorescein-antibody reaction. / acase@tulane.edu

Technological innovations in the field of information and communication have transformed the nature of the spatial realm. The spatial realm has been engaged with the virtual realm, where a new approach has been mandatory for a possible and productive interrelation between the two. On the other hand, new technologies have affected architectural drafting, representation, construction and most significantly architectural design to generate remarkable conveniences and unnoticed interfaces for architects. New technologies offer a common arithmetical medium where a new augmented relationship between sciences and architectural design is enabled. All these transformations prepared the basis for a redefinition and reevaluation of the surrounding realm that is referred to as the context of architectural design. The recurrence of contextualist and de-contextualist debates and attitudes show that context is dealt with as a multi-layered concept in architecture. Within all above mentioned transformations, the issue of contextualism in architecture is reopened up where the definition of context is seen to be in a process of constant renovation, inheriting the complexities new technologies and design methods based on interdisciplinarity have brought. This thesis looks into this transformating status of the concept of context and argues for its productivity in architectural design.

Today the most prosperous interface of architectural design and representation has become the architectural model both in its digital and physical forms. There has been a shift in the design medium from the physical modeling processes to computer-aided design, by way of which the computational design methods have established a much more dynamic, complex, and continual design. In this process, the digital design model now accompanies the whole design as a single entity, contrary to conventional analog modeling techniques where design is compartmentalized into linear phases. By the embracement of computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) in company of computeraided design (CAD), physical modeling has gained another dimension in the interwoven relationship of the digital and physical. The aim of this study is to explore the novel conceptual and computational changes which mark the departure of this new mode of design from the old. There has always been a hierarchy of presence between the virtual space of representations and architecture&rsquo / s materiality. Within this context, the emphasis of the study is on the relationship between the virtuality of conception and modeling processes, and the materiality of construction, production and fabrication.

The starting motivation of this study is to develop an intuitively strong approach to addressing architectural design problems through computational models. Within the scope of the thesis, the complexity of an architectural design problem is modeled computationally by translating the design reasoning into parameters, constraints and the relations between these. Such a model can easily become deterministic and defy its purpose, if it is customized with pre-defined and unchangeable relations between the constraints. This study acknowledges that the relations between design constraints are bound to change in architectural design problems, as exemplified in the graduation project of the author. As such, any computational design model should enable designers to modify the relations between constraints. The model should be open for modifications by the designer. v The findings of the research and the architectural design experiments in the showcase project suggest that this is possible if mass customized sequences of abstract, modifiable and reusable relations link the design constraints with each other in the model. Within the scope of this thesis, the designer actions are mass-customized sequences of relations that may be modified to fit the small design tasks of relating specific design constraints. They relate the constraints in sequence, and are mass customized in an abstract, modifiable and reusable manner. Within this study, they are encoded in Rhino Grasshopper definitions. As these mass customized relations are modifiable, they are seen as a remedy for enabling the designers to build models that meet individual and intuitive needs of the design problems that designers define.

Electrodes in a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) must possess both adequate porosity and electronic conductivity to perform their functions in the cell. They must be porous to permit rapid mass transport of reactant and product gases and sufficiently conductive to permit efficient electron transfer. However, it is nearly impossible to simultaneously control porosity and conductivity using conventional design and fabrication techniques. In this dissertation, computational design and performance optimization of microarchitectured SOFCs is first investigated in order to achieve higher power density and thus higher efficiency than currently attainable in state-of-the-art SOFCs. This involves a coupled multiphysics simulation of mass transport, electrochemical charge transfer reaction, and current balance as a function of SOFC microarchitecture. Next, the fabrication of microarchitectured SOFCs consistent with the computational designs is addressed based on anode-supported SOFC button cells using the laser ablation technique. Finally, the performance of a fabricated SOFC unit cell is characterized and compared against the performance predicted by the computational model. The results show that the performance of microarchitectured SOFCs was improved against the baseline structure and measured experimental data were well matched to simulation results.

With the introduction of a computational design environment, architectural design and representation processes witness a radical transition from the analog to the digital medium, that may be asserted to initiate a paradigm shift affecting both. In this new design environment, extending the instrumentality of computer-aided processes to the generative use of computational tools and procedures, architectural design and representation processes are subject to mutual alterations, challenged with computational design strategies such as parametric design, associative geometry, generative diagrams, scripting and algorithmic procedures. Computational design approaches proceed with the definition of a mathematical model based on the numeric definition of relations and equations, substituting the conventional visual/orthographic representation. This thesis aims to inquire the outcomes of assuming non-visual/numeric representation as a strategy in the therefore redefined process of architectural representation. Through the generative logic embedded in the mathematical model, attention shifts from form to process. This emphasis on process rather than the formal outcome, aids the experimentation of a desired indeterminacy, coming forth in dynamic, non-linear design processes, blurring the boundaries between different phases of design, and of representation. The intentional search for a generative design process liberated from the visual/formal determinism of the conventional design approach, initiates a conscious delay in the definition of form, and thus of visual representation. The thesis discusses the potentials presented by generative mathematical models defined with the aid of computational design tools, and the ways in which they alter and inform architectural design and representation.

The ability to accurately quantify the performance an additively manufactured (AM) product is important for a widespread industry adoption of AM as the design is required to: (1) satisfy geometrical constraints, (2) satisfy structural constraints dictated by its intended function, and (3) be cost effective compared to traditional manufacturing methods. Optimization techniques offer design aids in creating cost-effective structures that meet the prescribed structural objectives. The fundamental problem in existing approaches lies in the difficulty to quantify the structural performance as each unique design leads to a new set of analyses to determine the structural robustness and such analyses can be very costly due to the complexity of in-use forces experienced by the structure. This work develops computationally tractable methods tailored to maximize the structural performance of AM products. A geometry preserving build orientation optimization method as well as data-driven shape optimization approaches to structural design are presented. Proposed methods greatly enhance the value of AM technology by taking advantage of the design space enabled by it for a broad class of problems involving complex in-use loads.

Esta pesquisa objetiva investigar o design computacional, explorando a aplicação de ferramentas conceituais da computação no projeto e na produção de imagens dinâmicas e interativas. A realização desta pesquisa foi motivada por observações feitas pelo autor ao longo de sua experiência profissional, projetando e desenvolvendo interfaces digitais. Constatou-se que muitos profissionais, intitulados \"designers\", possuem pouco ou nenhum conhecimento das tecnologias envolvidas na implementação das interfaces que projetam. Por outro lado, esses mesmos profissionais se limitam a usar alguns poucos softwares comerciais (como por exemplo o Adobe Photoshop) enquanto ferramentas computacionais. Se o designer não conhece as tecnologias envolvidas no projeto (com suas possibilidades e suas limitações), pode acabar propondo soluções tecnicamente inviáveis ou inadequadas. E se o designer limita seu repertório de ferramentas, suas soluções podem ser concebidas mais em função dos recursos disponíveis nas ferramentas do que em função dos requisitos do projeto. Considerando que as ferramentas computacionais ocupam atualmente um papel central na produção, distribuição, e recepção de conteúdo, torna-se importante desenvolver uma postura crítica a respeito do uso da computação em design. E para tanto, faz-se necessário pesquisar as relações entre computação e design. Consultando autores das áreas de comunicação, cibernética, computação, artes, e design, buscou-se identificar os efeitos da computação na sociedade e no pensamento, sua aplicabilidade em outras áreas do conhecimento, e precedentes da arte e do design para uma abordagem computacional do design. Também foram consultados textos (em forma de depoimentos) de designers que trabalham com computação, nos quais relatam seus próprios processos de design. Além disso, foram realizadas entrevistas com 3 designers brasileiros, que ofereceram contribuições valiosas para aqueles que buscam compreender o design computacional de uma perspectiva brasileira. Esta dissertação pretende contribuir para uma maior compreensão das possibilidades e limitações da computação no design. / This research aims to study computational design, exploring the application of computing\'s conceptual tools in the design and the production of dynamic and interactive images. This research was motivated by reflections made by the author throughout his professional experience, designing and developing digital interfaces. It was found that many professionals, entitled \"designers\", have little or no knowledge of the technologies involved in the implementation of the interfaces they design. On the other hand, these same professionals limit themselves to use a few commercial softwares (for example, Adobe Photoshop) as computational tools. If the designer doesn\'t know the technologies involved in the design (with its possibilities and its limitations), he may end up proposing technically unfeasible or inappropriate solutions. If the designer limits his own tool set, his solutions may be conceived more as a function of the features available in the tools than the project\'s requirements. Considering that computational tools currently occupy a fundamental role in production, distribution, and reception of content, it becomes important to develop a critical stance regarding the use of computing in design. Therefore, it becomes necessary to study the relationships between computing and design. Consulting authors in the fields of communication, cybernetics, computing, arts, and design, we sought to identify the effects of computing in society and thinking, its applicability in other fields, and precedents from art and from design for a computational approach to design. Statements and articles from designers who work with computing, describing their own design processes, were also consulted. In addition, 3 interviews with Brazilian designers were conducted; the interviewees offered rich contributions for those who seek to understand computational design from a Brazilian standpoint. This dissertation aims to contribute to a larger comprehension of the possibilities and limitations of computing in design.

Most modern industrial and architectural designs need to satisfy the requirements of their targeted performance and respect the limitations of available fabrication technologies. At the same time, they should reflect the artistic considerations and personal taste of the designers, which cannot be simply formulated as optimization goals with single best solutions. This thesis aims at a general, flexible yet e cient computational framework for interactive creation, exploration and discovery of serviceable, constructible, and stylish designs. By formulating nonlinear engineering considerations as linear or quadratic expressions by introducing auxiliary variables, the constrained space could be e ciently accessed by the proposed algorithm Guided Projection, with the guidance of aesthetic formulations. The approach is introduced through applications in different scenarios, its effectiveness is demonstrated by examples that were difficult or even impossible to be computationally designed before. The first application is the design of meshes under both geometric and static constraints, including self-supporting polyhedral meshes that are not height fields. Then, with a formulation bridging mesh based and spline based representations, the application is extended to developable surfaces including origami with curved creases. Finally, general approaches to extend hard constraints and soft energies are discussed, followed by a concluding remark outlooking possible future studies.