Curved-Folding Biomimicry-Inspired Kinetic Facades: Integrating Composite Materials for Energy-Efficient, Motorless Adaptive Building Envelope
摘要
The building sector significantly impacts environmental sustainability, particularly through energy consumption and carbon emissions. This research addresses these challenges by exploring adaptive facade systems that integrate biomimicry-inspired design and shape-memory composites to enhance energy efficiency. Focusing on the critical role of building envelopes in energy efficiency, the study investigates dynamic materials capable of responding to environmental changes, with a particular emphasis on kinetic facades. This research proposes a kinetic facade system that operates autonomously using shape memory alloys (SMA) without relying on external energy sources or complex mechanical systems like motors and actuators. The system aims to resolve existing issues with kinetic facades, including high energy consumption, operational noise, and maintenance complexity. Inspired by natural mechanisms such as the waterwheel plant and Bird-of-Paradise flower, this approach employs curved folding techniques to construct a model with a mid-rib and two fins for motorless movement. By incorporating SMA, the facade system passively adapts to temperature fluctuations. In the initial phase, four models, each with dimensions of 280 mm x 280 mm, were fabricated using digital techniques, including Grasshopper and 3D printing. The models feature varying radii of curvature ranging from 450 mm to 1200 mm. Initial findings indicate that smaller curvature require less force to actuate, resulting in a more responsive and efficient shading mechanism. This facade system has the potential to significantly reduce solar heat gain in hot, arid climates where ambient temperatures regularly exceed 40 °C during summer months.