Rationalising bubble trusses for batch production

This paper is a progress report on an investigation into the rationalisation of apparently irregular, foam-like space frame structures. The notion of design rationalisation and its background are introduced and three alternative approaches to it are demonstrated and examined. One of the three approaches, that of co-rationalisation, has received attention only recently. Since it appears to offer interesting possibilities for integration into design processes, co-rationalisation is explored and analysed in greater detail. The paper concludes with some observations made in the discussed rationalisation processes. They suggest a possibility of generalisable related knowledge and of systematic design decision support for design rationalisation beyond the immediate context of foam-like space frame structures.