Option 1: Looking at how bay size, member weight and deflections interact for steel members
- Objective: find the best bay size that will minimize steel weight and deflections minimal
- Design variables: span of each bay, beam span to depth ratio and live loads
- Evaluators: steel weight per square foot, beam deflection due to live load
- Tradeoffs: longer bays lead to less columns used but increase the beam depth and weight, which leads to more cost, but short bays are not conducive to architectural intent
Option 2: selecting between brace framed and moment framed lateral systems
- Objective: find the lateral system that minimizes the steel weight and interstory drivt
- Design variables: brace frame configuration, amount and location of moment frame connections, number of bays with lateral system on the facade
- Constraints: building height, loads, occupancy type, risk category
- Evaluators: total steel weight, interstory drift ratios, percent of the bays on the perimeter that are obstructed
- Tradeoffs: braced frames are more efficient but they impose on the architecture, while moment frames use larger steel elements but allow for an open layout
Option 3: Looking at pile foundations and how depth and amount impact the risk of settlement and the cost of the foundations
- Objective: find the optimal amount of piles to keep the settlement risk low while also keeping cost low
- Design variables: Foundation Length, number of piles
- Constraints: loads, capacity, groundwater depth
- Evaluators: foundation cost per square foot, settlement risk in percentage
Design decision 3 was selected to evaluate in dynamo because it allows for the most clear visualization of tradeoffs. It lets us understand the decisions that designers and builders have to make.
Scatter plot of settlement risk versus pile cost.
The scatter plot has the settlement risk in the y axis and the cost in the x axis. This is showing that as the cost goes up the risk of settlement goes down, that is because you need to excavate more to more solid ground for it to be less likely for the foundation to settle unevenly. It shows an inverse relationship, so the designer needs to appropriately understand the tradeoffs before deciding on the foundation type. Cost tends to drive decisions, but safety should be the most important, if we wanted to keep cost relatively low while keeping risk below 5% it looks like keeping the pile depth to about 2ft and minimizing the amount of piles is the best path forward. The scatter plot is helpful in making design decisions because it allows us to clearly see the tradeoffs and understand how to best reduce risk and cost without fully compromising either.