Devising a technique for constructing helical architectural objects from curvilinear strips of constant width
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This study investigates the process of constructing helical surfaces with a cross-section in the form of an isosceles triangle or a rhombus. The task addressed relates to the impossibility of obtaining an accurate sweep of non-sweep helical surfaces. Obtaining such surfaces from approximate sweeps leads to shear and tensile deformations of the sheet material, to the formation of kinks and a large number of joining seams. This requires devising a technique for approximating a non-sweep helical tubular surface with strips of tangentially spread surfaces. This approach allows for the manufacture of helical surfaces from strips of sheet material by simply bending them into the desired shape. This work’s results make it possible to construct such composite surfaces according to the specified design parameters, which are the helix – the axis of the surface – and the shape of the cross-section. Individual strips are spread surfaces but are not surfaces of the same slope of the generatrixes. In this regard, finding their sweeps, that is, the contours of flat workpieces, requires numerical integration methods. A feature of the devised approach is the possibility of approximating a non-sweep helical surface by strips of sweeps. In the work, a composite helical surface was calculated and constructed along its given axis – a helical line with parameters a = 10, b = 5. The cross-section of the surface is a rhombus described around a circle of radius r = 1 with acute angles at the vertex 2φ = 40°. The scope of practical application of the results is architectural design and construction in terms of forming load-bearing or decorative helical elements. The condition for practical implementation is the transfer of the developed algorithms to CAD/CAM systems for automating the cutting of sheet metal with subsequent manufacturing of parts by bending
Language: English
Subfield: Architecture
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $242
OpenAlex ID: W7205017151