Application of the Gauss-Bonnet algorithm to the computation of the Gaussian curvature of shells

Modern architecture uses more and more free form surfaces which differ completely from classical constructions and are much more alike those which have been used extensively in aerospace or automotive engineering. Moreover, artistic construction surfaces are shaped very often in physical models, a situation which is similar to automotive industry which starts new designs with physical models. For example, a new design of a car body consists of a clay model and its geometry information comes from optical scans in discrete form. To analyze the stiffness of the corresponding shell model, Gaussian curvature computation, which is normally derived from continuous surfaces, is required for the discrete data. In this paper, we analyze the Gaussian curvature estimation algorithm based on the discrete Gauss-Bonnet algorithm. An industrial application of the algorithm is presented by means of the shell model of the car body.     «

Modern architecture uses more and more free form surfaces which differ completely from classical constructions and are much more alike those which have been used extensively in aerospace or automotive engineering. Moreover, artistic construction surfaces are shaped very often in physical models, a situation which is similar to automotive industry which starts new designs with physical models. For example, a new design of a car body consists of a clay model and its geometry information comes from...     »