Step 1 - Generative Design Framework
- Airplane seat configuration:
Variables:
- The number of rows
- The number and width of aisles
- The number of columns
Evaluators:
- Maximizing the number of seats,
- Maximizing the length of legroom for passenger comfort
- Minimizing the distance from each seat to the focal point, where an air hostess would be showing the safety instructions on the plane.
- Minimizing the obstructions between a passenger's line of sight and the focal point
Tradeoffs:
- By increasing the number of seats, we reduce the legroom for each passenger.
- By increasing the number of seats, we increase the number of obstructions in each passenger's line of sight
- Minimizing the distance from each passenger to the focal point, reduces the amount of legroom each passenger has.
- Picking a mode of transportation for upcoming travel:
Variables:
- The mode of transportation
- The date of travel
- The final destination
Evaluators:
- Minimizing the cost of travel
- Minimizing the travel time
- Maximizing the convenience and comfort of the travel
Tradeoffs:
- By minimizing the cost of travel, we most likely reduce the convenience and comfort of the travel.
- By minimizing the travel time, we most likely increase the cost of travel.
- Structural Analysis of a building Column
Variables:
- Length of column
- The cross-sectional shape of the column
- Cross-sectional dimensions of the column
- Size and number of reinforcing bars
- Number and spacing of stirrups
Evaluators:
- Minimizing the cost of fabricating the column
- Maximizing the strength of the column
- Minimizing the cross-sectional area of the column
- Maximizing the ease of fabricating the column
Tradeoffs:
- Maximizing the strength of the column too much will make it more expensive.
- Minimizing the cross-sectional area could cause the nominal strength of the column to be too low for its purpose
- Minimizing the cost of the column could cause the nominal strength of the column to be too low for its purpose
Step 2 - Generative Design Study
I decided to choose my first design decision from step one, where we optimize the airplane seat configuration. To explore this design decision, I created a study graph. I created the dynamo model I used dimensions and geometries specific to the Boeing 767 airplane because I previously worked on this plane and am more familiar with its geometry. The initial values that I used as the inputs are the standard aisle width of airplanes, the typical number of columns and rows, and the nominal cabin width and length of a Boeing 767 passenger plane. I also simplified my model by neglecting the empty rows for the emergency exit doors and I also simplified the model by assuming that there will be only one focal point at which the air hostess will be showing the safety instructions at the front of the plane. I also assumed that all the passengers will have the same eye level which is set to be the average eye level for a seated woman in the USA. The focal point of the air hostess is the average eye level of a standing male in the USA. I made these assumptions because I think they are the most conservative.
The following images show the code blocks I used to create the study graph.
After defining the inputs, I created rectangles that represented the different sections of seats in the plane. The sections were divided into the number of rows and columns specified and the number of sections is related to the number of aisles there are.
Next, I calculated the dimensions of each plane seat, this is how I found the amount of legroom that each seat has. I modeled my plane to have the same seat dimensions throughout the whole plane.
The following code block shows how I found the location of each passenger's eyes to be at the center of each block and at the average seated height of a woman in the USA above the ground level.
This block shows the location and height of the focal point or the eyes of the air hostess at the front of the plane.
Next, I calculated the number of seats in the entire plane.
Finally, I calculated the distance between each passenger's eyes and the air hostess’ eyes. I did this with the following code block, where I made a vector between all the eye levels of the passengers and the air hostess's eye level then I found the length of all the vectors and then found the average value.
Here are the outputs of my study graph.
Step 3 - Generative Design Study Results
For my generative study, I chose to maximize the number of seats and the seat legroom and minimize the average distance to the focal point. I varied the cabin width and the number of rows and columns. I constrained the seat width to have a minimum of 0.43 meters which is the current standard for seat widths on airplanes. I also constrained the legroom to have a maximum of 1.72 meters which is twice the average legroom than current planes on the market have. The images below show how I performed the generative study.
The image below shows the results of my generative study. My study aimed to maximize the number of seats and the legroom while minimizing the distance to the focal point. The results illustrate some of the tradeoffs. The relationship between the number of seats and seat width is not consistent between all the alternatives. However, there appears to be a tradeoff between the number of seats and the legroom, when there are more seats, there tends to be less legroom and vice versa. Additionally, the legroom and the average distance to the focal point have an inverse relationship but this is desirable because I am trying to maximize the legroom and minimize the average distance to the focal point.
The following images show some of the scatterplots generated from the generative study.
The graphs show that:
- There is a negative linear relationship between the number of seats and the legroom.
- There is a nonlinear relationship between the number of seats and the average distance to the focal point.
- There is a linearly increasing relationship between the number of seats and the number of rows.
- The relationship between the number of columns and the number of seats is linear but generally not increasing.
These relationships indicate that there is no way to achieve the highest number of seats and legroom with the minimum distance to the focal point all in the same alternative.
The best alternative is shown below. This alternative has an average number of seats and legroom, but it has wider seats and a lower distance to the focal point. I think this is the best alternative because it reduces the amount of tradeoff that is made between the number of seats and the legroom while still retaining a lower distance to the focal point. The wider seats will also allow the passengers more comfort.
