top of page
mangrove 3 point.png

Bio-Inspired Coastal Building Foundation

Objective

My team was prompted to research and develop a foundation system based on biological organisms for mid- to large-sized structures located in coastal regions that must resist environmental strain. The assignments included research, various iterations of designs, and creating a physical scale model of the final designs for testing purposes.

Skills, Software, and Applied Knowledge

- SolidWorks

- Teamwork

- Microsoft Teams

- MATLAB

- Research

- Parametric Modeling

My Contribution

Throughout the project, I acted as a researcher, designer, and prototyper. Specifically, I completed the mangrove root portion of the project. This included the initial research into potential biological sources of inspiration, participating in brainstorming, 3D modeling a mangrove-inspired pile design, and assembling a scale model of the final design for physical testing.

Process

Identify the Problem Statement

The foundational structure was designed for coastal regions that must withstand a variety of environmental strains, including erosion, heaving, corrosion, hydrostatic and hydrodynamic forces, and temperature fluctuations. The structure must withstand these forces and the compressive weight of the building. The designs also needed to consider the cost of materials, sustainability, and ease of deployment.

Biological Research

     Mangrove Forests

The extensive root structure of mangroves helps hold sediment together and prevent erosion while providing water to the tree. Mangrove trees, as an individual unit and as a group, are both excellent examples of erosion control and structural stability under cyclic loading (due to water flow).

mangrove.png

     Root Hairs

Root hairs are one of the most important structures used in the erosion control of plant roots. Creating small structures to cover the entire surface of the roots adds more friction, which reduces erosion.

Design Phase

Mangrove roots were the primary biological source used for design inspiration. Their root structures include parabolically shaped roots extending off a vertical, cylindrical central root. 

Based on equations modeling the geometry of a mangrove root system, a simulation of mangrove roots was modeled onto a scaled, standard pile. After simplifying assumptions and limiting parameters were applied, MATLAB code was written to determine the equation used in the model. 

Quantification and Testing

     Theoretical Calculations

Various calculations were made to determine the best design by theoretical means. When normalizing these results by the volume of material used, the mangrove design was best at withstanding a large load capacity, and the root hair design was best when comparing volume to the percentage area covered.

     Physical Testing

Through creating scale physical models and testing their performances, the mangrove design was chosen over the other two designs. It outperformed the other designs in experimental load, erosion testing, theoretical load, and erosion predictions.

Comments

Foundational systems in shallow, coastal regions can be improved through biologically inspired design to take advantage of the evolutionary mechanisms that plants have developed over millennia. Moving forward, continued research will be conducted by our mentor, Dr. Gamble, in his architectural research.

I really enjoy using biology to inspire my design choices. The field is growing, and research into the various mechanisms plants and animals use is still ongoing, but for the time being, I would love to keep researching the topic and using that knowledge to create innovative designs.

bottom of page