New Mars Forums

tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 17,057

Architecture

This new topic in Science, Technology and Astronomy is offered to provide a focus for both new concepts by members, and review of the work of others.

The scope is intended to be wide.

Work done to develop structures or systems for Mars can (very likely) be adapted for Earth or other locations in the Solar System.

SearchTerm:Architecture

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Calliban

Member

From: Northern England, UK

Registered: 2019-08-18

Posts: 3,411

Re: Architecture

I have always been intrigued by the idea of a pressure dome made from entirely compressive members.  The dome itself would be constructed from hexagonal concrete blocks.  At the top, would sit a key stone, upon which we would construct a tall tower of rock and sand, cemented together using some sort of binding agent  - would ice be sufficient?

The idea is that the tower is a counterweight against the internal pressure of the dome.  To resist horizontal forces imposed upon the concrete blocks by the air pressure within; we are basically relying upon static friction between the blocks.  The counterweight would be carefully loaded to allow sufficient static friction to hold the blocks together, without exceeding their compressive strength.

The hexagonal blocks used to produce the dome would have circular holes in the middle.  Hemispherical glass windows would be mounted on the inside and would let light into the structure.  I have often wondered if such a structure could be made from rammed soil, but I suspect compressive strength would be too low.

Last edited by Calliban (2020-07-02 04:16:07)

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"Plan and prepare for every possibility, and you will never act. It is nobler to have courage as we stumble into half the things we fear than to analyse every possible obstacle and begin nothing. Great things are achieved by embracing great dangers."

tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 17,057

Re: Architecture

For Calliban re #2

Thank you for giving this new topic a resounding start!

This post is reserved for an image of your design.  It is possible SpaceNut will find examples and display them in a close following post.

It should be possible to develop a design study using any of the 3D design tools available to forum readers world wide. 

The starting element could be a sphere. The design software I am most familiar with use triangles as the basic element.  Hexagons are (of course) combinations of triangles. 

In thinking about the design, it crossed my mind briefly to consider a geodesic dome, but those are designed of longitudinal compression elements, and the filler material is not load bearing.  Furthermore, a traditional geodesic dome is NOT designed to withstand internal pressure, as is a defining characteristic of your proposal.

It would be good to see additions to this topic by members who have knowledge of and experience with materials which might be considered for this application. I would very much like to see detailed explanations of how (currently known) Mars regolith material might be fashioned into the hexagons Calliban has described. A mold could be designed to make all the hexagons so they will have precisely the camber needed to achieve the desired dome shape.

As an aside ... Recently I watched a documentary on the work of an Italian architect who accepted the challenge of building a dome for a cathedral, when the cathedral itself had been constructed, and no one knew how to build such a large unsupported dome.  The architect designed a brickwork in such a way that the walls were self supporting, so the bricks could be laid all the way to the peak without need of a wooden brace underneath.

To oversimplify (easy because I barely understand it) the bricks were laid in accordance with the drawing tight of guide ropes to determine the exact angle of the tops of the bricks as they were laid, course by course.  A laser beam would be the modern equivalent technology.

If this ancient technique were adapted for the Mars dome, it might be possible to computer design the hexagonal pieces so they too could be laid without need for a temporary construction support.  The Italian architect was working ONLY with gravity pulling down.  The design Calliban describes would ** also ** be dealing with compression forces acting against gravity.

SearchTerm:ImagePendingHexagonDome

Edit#1: Here are two images for Calliban's concept, to try to move the topic a bit.  These are from Blender, set to Level 3 (3 subdivisions).

At the moment, I have no idea what that means.  Blender offers spheres defined with squares (UV style) or with triangles (icosphere).

According to a brief summary I found, the square form looks smoother at small density, but the icosphere form looks better as the number of subdivisions are increased (whatever those are).

Edit#2: Calliban, as I study the images above, it occurs to me that your idea of windows mixed with solid material might be realized if some of the triangles were made of transparent material.  I'm hoping members of the forum with the appropriate knowledge and experience can suggest material capable of withstanding the various loads that Calliban's concept would experience.

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Last edited by tahanson43206 (2020-07-02 10:25:01)

tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 17,057

Re: Architecture

This post is offered to provide an anchor for a member of the forum who might wish to design aesthetically pleasing structures along the lines of cathedrals on Earth.  The original purpose of the cathedral art form was to express religious sensibilities, but as the centuries have rolled the structures have become icons of architecture in its finest form.

The use of an arch to support Martian regolith for radiation protection has come up many times in this forum, and it came up again very recently in posts by Calliban in Void's Above Under Both topic.   While the practical minded might pass on the cathedral art form for many reasons, I am betting there are some who will wish to re-create the vistas made possible by towering arches.

Such structures will need solid bedrock for foundation.

A quick scan (using Google) revealed hints that bedrock is not far from the surface in much of Mars.

SearchTerm:Cathedral
SearchTerm:ArchGothic

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tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 17,057

Re: Architecture

This post is about a suggestion/thought for application entirely on Earth, although it might have application elsewhere in the Solar System.

The issue I am attempting to address is the loss of the use of land by native peoples in Louisiana.

A report on an attempt to relocate a community appeared in news feeds recently.  The attempt was an experiment by an agency of the US Government.

As often happens with such experiments, the results were not long lasting.

There are populations on Earth who live their entire lives on water.  Usually their accommodations are small boats, arranged in such a way as to permit access to land when it is available.

If I get time and am sufficiently motivated, I will try to make a Blender or Fusion 360 drawing, but for now, following the example of Void, here is a word picture.

***
Louisiana Pole House

The structure I have in mind would be a ring shaped living quarters, riding on water but able to latch to a vertical pipe sunk into the ground under the habitat.

The pipe would be large enough to withstand the force of hurricanes, tides and even the occasional tsunami, and it would be set deep enough to avoid forces that would tilt it one way or the other.

The pipe itself would be a storage location for fresh water, which would arrive with rains when they occur, or which is generated using solar power applied to the salt water around the habitat.

In the event of extreme weather, the habitat ring would rise on the pole, and ratchets would insure the habitat remains at whatever elevation waves might lift it.

After extreme weather has abated, the habitat can be gently let back down to whatever elevation is available.

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Void

Member

Registered: 2011-12-29

Posts: 7,078

Re: Architecture

That is a pretty good adaptation it seems to me.

Done.

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Done.

tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 17,057

Re: Architecture

For Void ... re #6

A word of praise from a Master Creative will go a long way in NewMars Forum!

For SpaceNut ... if you have time, please find images of towers with rotating restaurants, such as the tower on the waterfront in Toronto, which I've had the opportunity to visit, and similar ones in other cities.

While I did not expect the living quarters to be at the top of the tower except in the most extreme weather, the images might stimulate the thinking of New Mars members to design less expensive but weather resistant living accommodations that will be needed world wide in the decades ahead.

Here is an image that Google found:

The image does not show up automatically, as I had hoped.

Update later: Here is an Imgur.com link:

The part of this design I'm thinking about is the top section, where the restaurant is secured to a cylindrical structure.

A tsunami and hurricane resistant residence would be mounted above the waves during storms, and able to drop down towards the surface in nice weather.

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tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 17,057

Re: Architecture

A recent post by Mars_B4_Moon shows a video of the storm surge at Fort Myers, Florida...

http://newmars.com/forums/viewtopic.php … 24#p201624

This post is offered to try to encourage NewMars members to think about an architecture that might be able to protect the home that washed away in the video.

I had imagined (before seeing the video) that a clamshell might be able to fold over a home to protect it from wind, rain or even a flood.

Now I'm less sure... The clamshell could rotate to fold over the house, but it would need to have provision to keep air pressure inside the dome sufficient to keep water out at the bottom.

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tahanson43206

Moderator

Registered: 2018-04-27

Posts: 17,057

Re: Architecture

The article at the link below ** may ** be of interest to folks planning for Mars or other off-Earth locations, as well as folks right here on Earth.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realest … af#image=6

There may be a shorter link to access the story.

What caught my eye was the exterior material applied to the traditional square volumes inside.  That exterior material would also serve for radiation shielding on Mars.

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