Abstract:

Currently, there are only three classical and a handful of emerging design methodologies available to structural engineers worldwide. None of these methodologies can explain the design concepts involved in the realization of natural structures such as trees, nor can they fully address the design needs of contemporary engineering structures. The recently developed Performance Control (PC) incorporates both the essence of the classical concepts and the newer procedures and addresses the observed performance of the structure during its known history of loading. PC attempts to mimic nature by applying the known theories of structures to the design of case-specific frameworks, rather than investigating their results for compliance against prescriptive criteria. Parametric examples have been provided to illustrate the applications of the conceptual design similarities between trees and manmade moment frames. It has been shown that an understanding of the structural performance of trees can enhance the structural design of moment frames, and that bioinspired PC can lead to minimum weight moment frames under lateral loading. The analogous performances of the natural and manmade structures may help explain the structural response of trees to similar loading scenarios.

Key words: performance control, biomimetics, trees, moment frames, lateral loading