An overview of the natural force density method and its implementation on an efficient parametric computational framework

The new paradigms of parametric modelling have been proving promising on the advance of systems for analysis and design of taut (or tensile) structures. With this premise, the presented work consist on the development with a form-finding tool for Computer Aided Design(CAE) and Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) integration using VPL (Visual Programming Language), in the context of parametric modelling. The methods used in the implementation are the Force Density Method (FDM) and the Natural Force Density Method (NFDM), taking advantage of the linear solution approach provided, suitable for fast form-finding computational procedures. The program is implemented as a Grasshopper plug-in and it is named BATS (Basic Analysis of Taut Structures), which enables parametric definition of boundary conditions for the form-finding. The program structure and benchmarks with other available Grasshopper plug-ins for taut structures form-finding are presented, showing considerably superior performance using BATS.