I am a Master’s graduate student in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Princeton University. I started at Princeton in the fall of 2010 after graduating from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the spring with a B.S. in CEE. For my thesis, I am working on the design, modeling, and analysis of a retractable membrane-spline system. This concept evolved from a roject in Professor Adriaenssens’ Form Finding class. I am modeling this structure with a Dynamic Relaxation algorithm mplemented in MATLAB that attempts to replicate the physical form finding process used to initially generate the small scale form. The final forms (open and closed) of the structure will be analyzed using FEM software, and the feasibility of the design will be xamined in a specific case study. A potentially sustainable aspect will also be considered: the use of solar cells to provide power to the actuation mechanism.
Additionally, I am exploring a new physical form finding method based on homeostasis—a fundamental biological property. This method applies heat as an external aggravator to a thermoplastic material in order to generate new forms. The heat causes a eduction in the material’s stiffness, and in response, the material alters its form to continue resisting load.
Publications:
Barnes M., Adriaenssens S., Krupka M. (2013). ‘A novel torsion/bending element for dynamic relaxation modeling’. In Computers and Structures, 19 (1), pp 60–67.DOI 10.1016/j.compstruc.2012.12.027
Huang T., Krupka M., Bagrianski S., , Wagner S. , Peters C., Adriaenssens S.(2011). ‘Shaping mechanically coupled assemblies of dielectric elastomer elements’.2011 Materials Research Society Fall Meeting, Boston, USA.
