Structural Design Using Cellular Automata

Traditional parallel methods for structural design do not scale well. This thesis discusses the application of massively scalable cellular automata (CA) techniques to structural design. There are two sets of CA rules, one used to propagate stresses and strains, and one to perform design analysis. These rules can be applied serially, periodically, or concurrently, and Jacobi or Gauss-Seidel style updating can be done. These options are compared with respect to convergence, speed, and stability.