Herm Hofmeyer

Background

About Herm Hofmeyer

Being Associate Professor in the chair of Applied Mechanics, unit Structural Engineering and Design, I enthusiastically focus on two types of research. The first, Structural Design Computing, involves the application of Computer Science to building structures and their design process. Unique developments include automated zoning, iterative structural grammars, stabilisation, generation of conformal geometries, simulations of co-evolutionary design processes, and structural optimisation. Applying the high scientific standards of Applied Mechanics, the developments are verified with additional implementations, genetic algorithms, and case studies from practice. The research seeks to (a) support the design process by interactively providing design variants and optimised designs;(b) optimise the design process itself by studying its behaviour for different inputs and settings in simulated co-evolutionary design processes; and (c) understand the fundaments of structures, e.g. by uncovering the reason for structures being hierarchical. The second type of research is related to the application and further development of the finite element method for structural engineering. Using experimental data, obtained via our in-house laboratory or from academic partners, dedicated finite element models are developed to obtain in-depth knowledge on the structural behaviour. Recent research focusses on: the direct strength method for web-crippling and bending of cold-formed steel sections, two-way coupled CFD fire and thermomechanical FE analyses, two-scale models for structures with bolt and screw connections, the glass or concrete provided shear resistance of (high-rise) steel frames; and topology optimization of concrete structures for 3D printing.