Applied Mathematics and Computation 218 (2012) 6999–7004

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Applied Mathematics and Computation

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/amc

Analysis of Gaudi surfaces at small deformations

Ljubica S. Velimirović a,⇑, Milica D. Cvetković a, Marija S. Ćirić a, Nikola Velimirović a,b
a
Faculty of Science and Mathematics, 18000 Niš, Serbia
b
Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture, 18000 Niš, Serbia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Keywords: Complex freeform structures are one of the most striking trends in contemporary architec-
Gaudi surfaces ture. In a variety of mathematical surfaces, there is a special kind, as known as Gaudi sur-
Construction faces. Gaudi surfaces are used as elements of architecture and roof constructions. Including
Visualization aesthetics, statics, scale and manufacturing technologies, it should point out the possibility
Small deformations
of the mathematical analysis in the case of infinitesimal deformations as well as consider-
Willmore energy
ing the rigidity of these surfaces using tensor calculus approach.
Ó 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

Antoni Gaudi (1852–1926) was a brilliant Catalan architect, mathematician and artist. He studied architecture, with a
strong grounding in mathematics, especially calculus and descriptive geometry. Gaudi surfaces are ruled surfaces – an
important class of surfaces that contain straight lines.
Ruled surfaces are popular in architecture having structural elegance included as part or as whole. Complex shapes can be
built by movement of straight line. This kind of surfaces have technical advantages for facades, roofs or other building ele-
ments (Fig. 1.1).
Serious geometry lies at the architectural design [1]. Modern geometric computing provides a variety of tools for the effi-
cient design, analysis, and manufacturing of complex shapes. This opens up new horizons for architecture. The architectural
context also poses new problems to geometry.
The study of rigidity and flexibility has a rich history in what are currently a number of areas of engineering and math-
ematics, but historically were connected in the work of many scientists who combined studies of engineering, physics, and
mathematics [5,3,7,11,8–10].

2. Notations and preliminaries

Definition 2.1. A ruled surface M 2 R3 is surface which contains at least one 1-parameter family of straight lines. Thus, a
ruled surface has a parametrization x : U ? M of the form

xðu; v Þ ¼ aðuÞ þ v cðuÞ; ð2:1Þ

3 0
where a and c are curves in R with a never 0. We call x a ruled patch. The curve a is called the directrix or base curve of the
ruled surface, and c is called the director curve. The rulings of the ruled surface are the straight lines v ? a(u) + vc(u).

⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: vljubica@pmf.ni.ac.rs (L.S. Velimirović), spasic-m@eunet.rs (M.D. Cvetković), marijamath@yahoo.com (M.S. Ćirić), velimirovic.niko-
la@gmail.com (N. Velimirović).

0096-3003/$ - see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.amc.2011.12.005
7000 L.S. Velimirović et al. / Applied Mathematics and Computation 218 (2012) 6999–7004

Fig. 1.1. Ruled surfaces.

A ruled surface is called a conoid if it can be generated by moving of a straight line parallel to a plane, intersecting a fixed
straight line – axis of conoid and a fixed basic curve a(u) [2,6], see Fig. 1.1.

Definition 2.2. Gaudi surface or sinusoidal conoid is a surface non-parametrically defined as

y
z ¼ kx sin ; ð2:2Þ
a
where k and a are arbitrary constants.
The directrix of this surface is sinusoid with yz-plane as plane of parallelity and x-axes is its axes.
For different values of constants k and a, there are different types of Gaudi surfaces.

Fig. 2.1. Gaudi surfaces.

Fig. 2.2. Gaudi surface and its curvature.

 L.S. Velimirović et al. / Applied Mathematics and Computation 218 (2012) 6999–7004 7001

The rulings of a ruled surface are asymptotic curves. There is interesting presentation of Gaudi surface given at Fig. 2.1.
Gaussian curvature is everywhere non-positive:

cos2 v
K¼ 2
ð2:3Þ
v þ u2 cos2 v Þ2
:
ð1 þ sin

Mean curvature is:

2
u sinv ð1 þ sin v þ 2 cos2 v Þ
H¼ 2 3
: ð2:4Þ
2ð1 þ sin v þ u2 cos2 v Þ 2

Gaussian curvature of Gaudi surface and Gaudi surface colored by its mean curvature are presented at Fig. 2.2.

3. A mathematical definition of infinitesimal deformations of shells and Gaudi surfaces

A mathematical approach to the problem of infinitesimal deformations can be presented as a part of the global differential
geometry.
Many renowned mathematicians (Cauchy, Liebman, Hielbert, Weil, Blaschke) have dealt with the problem of infinitesimal
deformation. One of the first works in this field belongs to Cauchy (1813). He proved in it that closed convex polyhedrons are
rigid. Infinitesimal transformations of some other types are widely studied at [4,12].
In the case that
S : r ¼ rðu; v Þ;
is the vector equation of a regular surface S, and the surface S is included in the family of surfaces St(S = S0), expressed by the
equation
St : rðu; v ; tÞ ¼ rðu; v Þ þ tzðu; v Þ;
where t 2 R, t ? 0, z-continuous differentiable vector function of the Cm (m P 3) class, defined in the points belonging to the
surface S, which is the field of infinitesimal deformations. The surfaces St, t 2 R, t ? 0, are the infinitesimal deformations of
the surface S if the difference in the linear element squares of these surfaces is an infinitesimal value of a higher order com-
pared to t, t ? 0, i.e.
2 2
dst  ds ¼ oðtÞ:
This means that the curve arc length variation on the surface is 0, ds = 0, in infinitesimal deformations, that is, the arc
length of the curve on the surface is stationary in infinitesimal deformation. The angles between the curves on the surface
are also not changed, as well as other elements that depend on the coefficients of the first fundamental form.
The surface is rigid if it allows only for trivial infinitesimal deformation fields. The deformation field is trivial if it has the
form of
z ¼ a  r þ b; a; b  constant vectors;
where  denotes vector product.
A necessary and sufficient precondition for the surfaces St to represent infinitesimal deformation of S is that following is
valid:
dr  dz ¼ 0; ð3:1Þ
where S : r = r(u, v), z = z(u, v) is the infinitesimal deformation field, and  denotes a scalar product.
This equation is equivalent to the three partial equations:
ru  zu ¼ 0; ru  zv þ rv  zu ¼ 0; rv  zv ¼ 0:
There is a unique vector field y(u, v) for the infinitesimal deformation field z(u, v) of the surface, so that:
zu ¼ y  ru ; zv ¼ y  rv ;
i.e.
dz ¼ y  dr: ð3:2Þ
The rotation field for which previous relation is valid is the vector field y(u, v). As the result of the infinitesimal deformation
surface, all its elements are subject to the rotation with the rotation vector y(u, v).
The field s(u, v), determined by the equation
s¼zyr
is the field of surface translations at infinitesimal deformation with a defined field z(u, v).
7002 L.S. Velimirović et al. / Applied Mathematics and Computation 218 (2012) 6999–7004

The derivatives of the vectors yu, yv of the rotation field y(u, v) are given by the equations

yu ¼ aru þ brv ;
ð3:3Þ
yv ¼ cru  arv ;
where the functions a(u, v), b(u, v), c(u, v) satisfy the system of partial differential equations:

av  cu ¼ C111 c  2C112 a  C122 b;

au  bv ¼ C211 c  2C212 a  C222 b; ð3:4Þ
b11 c  2b12 a  b22 b ¼ 0;
where Cijk are Cristoffel’s symbols of the surface r = r(u, v), and bij are the coefficients of the second fundamental form.
The solution of this system of partial equations determines the functions a, b, c. The fields y and z are determined in the
following way.
Being that
dy ¼ uu du þ yv dv ¼ ðaru þ brv Þdu þ ðcru  arv Þdv
is the total differential of the vector function y, by integrating we get the field y(u, v) that is determined in a unilaterally con-
nected surface S. With such determined field y, the infinitesimal deformation z field should be further defined. Namely, we
have that
dz ¼ y  dr ¼ ðy  ru Þdu þ ðy  rv Þdv : ð3:5Þ
As
ðy  ru Þv ¼ ðy  rv Þu
the right side of the Eq. (4) is the total differential, so the field z(u, v) is determined by integration.
We shall examine infinitesimal deformation of the surface z ¼ kx sin ya, Gaudi surface. The vector equation of this surface
is:
v
rðu; v Þ ¼ ðu; v ; ku sin Þ; ðu ¼ x; v ¼ yÞ ð3:6Þ
a
or:
v
r ¼ ue1 þ v e2 þ ku sin e3 ;
a
where e1, e2, e3 are mutually perpendicular unit vectors.
The Cristoffel’s symbols of this surface are
2 2 2
1k v v 1k 2 v 1k v
C111 ¼ C211 ¼ 0; C112 ¼ C121 ¼ sin cos ; C122 ¼  u sin C212 ¼ C221 ¼ u cos2 ;
g a a a g a2 a g a2 a
;
2
1k 2 v v
C222 ¼  u sin cos ;
g a3 a a
2 2 2
where g ¼ 1 þ k sin va þ ak2 u2 cos2 va is determinant of the coefficients of the first fundamental form of Gaudi surface. The
second fundamental form coefficients are:
1 k v 1 k v
b11 ¼ 0; b12 ¼ b21 ¼ pffiffiffi cos ; b22 ¼  pffiffiffi 2 u sin :
ga a ga a
The Eq. (3.4) become:
2 2
1k v v 1k 2 v
av  cu ¼ 2 sin cos a þ u sin b; ð3:7Þ
g a a a g a2 a
2 2
1k v 1k 2 v v
au  bv ¼ 2 u cos2 a þ u sin cos b; ð3:8Þ
g a2 a g a3 a a
1 k v 1 k v
 2 pffiffiffi cos a þ pffiffiffi 2 u sin b ¼ 0: ð3:9Þ
ga a ga a

From (3.9) we get

u v ap
a¼ tan b; v– þ akp: ð3:10Þ
2a a 2

Put (3.10) into (3.8) and get quasi-linear partial differential equation of unknown function b:
 L.S. Velimirović et al. / Applied Mathematics and Computation 218 (2012) 6999–7004 7003

u v 1 v
tan bu  bv ¼  tan b:
2a a 2a a
General solution of that equation is

u2
 
v
V b2 cos ¼ 0; ð3:11Þ
cos va a
;

where V is arbitrary continuous differentiable function.

The unknown function c(u, v) we get from (3.7), (3.10), and is the solution of

u 1 u u
cu ¼ bþ tan bv
2a2 cos2 va 2a a
i.e.

u 1 u u
Z  
c¼ b þ tan b du þ uðv Þ; ð3:12Þ
2a2 cos2 va 2a a v
where u(v) is arbitrary function, and b is from (3.11).
For instance, if we take V(x, y) = xy  1, and u(v) = 0, we get

1 1 v u
b¼ u – 0; a¼ tan ; c¼
u 2a a 2a2 cos2 va
; :

As (3.3) and

dy ¼ yu du þ yv dv ¼ ðdY 1 ; dY 2 ; dY 3 Þ;
by integration we get

u v 1  v  ku  2 v  3ku v
 
y ¼ ðY 1 ; Y 2 ; Y 3 Þ ¼ tan ; log u2 j cos j ; sin þ1 þ cos
a a 2 a 2a cos a a 2a a
v :

Applying (3.2), we will determine the infinitesimal deformation field. As (3.6) for the GP is

ku
 
v v
dr ¼ du; dv ; k sin du þ cos dv ;
a a a
based on (3.2), it appears that

e1 e2 e3
 
u 1 2 ku 2
sin va þ 1 þ 3ku
 
dz ¼ y  dr ¼ a
tan v a 2
log u j cos va j 2a cosva 2a
cos va :
du dv k sin va du þ ku
a
cos va dv

The Gaudi surface bending field is obtained by the integration of that equation. Thus, for u > 0 and v 2 (0, ap/2),
2
!
v  ku 1 þ sin va 5ku v 2ku 1
 
v  v 
3 v
z¼ ku sin log u2 cos  log  sin þ c 1 cos þ c 2 u 1  log u2
cos þ c 3 ;
a a 4 1  sin va 2 a a a 2 a
; ;

c1, c2, c3 are constants.

Acknowledgement

Authors would like to thank to anonymous referees for helpful suggestions.

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