biostudies-literatureGronquist PDeutsche ForschungsgemeinschaftInnosuisse - Schweizerische Agentur für InnovationsförderungDeutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt192210https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC7428239biostudies-literatureUnknown7(7)Bi-layered composites capable of self-shaping are of increasing relevance to science and engineering. They can be made out of anisotropic materials that are responsive to changes in a state variable, e.g. wood, which swells and shrinks by changes in moisture. When extensive bending is desired, such bilayers are usually designed as cross-ply structures. However, the nature of cross-ply laminates tends to prevent changes of the Gaussian curvature so that a plate-like geometry of the composite will be partly restricted from shaping. Therefore, an effective approach for maximizing bending is to keep the composite in a narrow strip configuration so that Gaussian curvature can remain constant during shaping. This represents a fundamental limitation for many applications where self-shaped double-curved structures could be beneficial, e.g. in timber architecture. In this study, we propose to achieve double-curvature by gridshell configurations of narrow self-shaping wood bilayer strips. Using numerical mechanical simulations, we investigate a parametric phase-space of shaping. Our results show that double curvature can be achieved and that the change in Gaussian curvature is dependent on the system's geometry. Furthermore, we discuss a novel architectural application potential in the form of self-erecting timber gridshells.Royal Society open scienceComputational analysis of hygromorphic self-shaping wood gridshell structures.PMC742823934714/0125114.2EXC 2120/1 –390831618Menges AWood DGronquist PPanchadcharam PRuggeberg MWittel FKfalseComputational analysis of hygromorphic self-shaping wood gridshell structures.Bi-layered composites capable of self-shaping are of increasing relevance to science and engineering. They can be made out of anisotropic materials that are responsive to changes in a state variable, e.g. wood, which swells and shrinks by changes in moisture. When extensive bending is desired, such bilayers are usually designed as cross-ply structures. However, the nature of cross-ply laminates tends to prevent changes of the Gaussian curvature so that a plate-like geometry of the composite will be partly restricted from shaping. Therefore, an effective approach for maximizing bending is to keep the composite in a narrow strip configuration so that Gaussian curvature can remain constant during shaping. This represents a fundamental limitation for many applications where self-shaped double-curved structures could be beneficial, e.g. in timber architecture. In this study, we propose to achieve double-curvature by gridshell configurations of narrow self-shaping wood bilayer strips. Using numerical mechanical simulations, we investigate a parametric phase-space of shaping. Our results show that double curvature can be achieved and that the change in Gaussian curvature is dependent on the system's geometry. Furthermore, we discuss a novel architectural application potential in the form of self-erecting timber gridshells.2020-01-01T00:00:00Z2020 Jul2025-04-18T14:40:47.971Z2020-09-04T07:06:59ZS-EPMC74282393287461310.1098/rsos.192210