Utilization of Topological Representation in Mechanical Design : an Attempt

Abstract

This work is a preliminary investigation carried out in an attempt to develop a software system which detects the possible sources of degradation in the original design of machines and structures and provides alternatives to improve their integrities in terms of strength by noting their geometrical distinctions. The computer stores their topological data using a boundary representation model. The system detects the distinctive geometrical features and reasons based on them whether they might be triggers for degradation or not by referring to the attributes attached to each one of these geometrical features. The fundamental validity of the approach is verified on a personal computer using Prolog. What should be stressed as the originality of this paper is that although the design models cannot be modified without numerical data in the conventional strength-related designs, they can be improved, or better alternatives can be suggested, as long as their topological data are available in our system.