A Stochastic Approach To Simulate And Optimize The Coating Uniformity Of Rotational Molding For Microalgae Facades

Microalgae facades have been positioned as a potential solution to improve building energy efficiency, indoor air quality, and carbon sequestration. We investigated rotational molding as a method to fabricate freeform photobioreactors for microalgae facade integration. The challenge is that the optimal speed ratio for biaxial rotational molding is dependent on geometry, and there is no known method to determine the optimal speed ratio for any given geometry. We proposed a model with a stochastic approach to simulate the optimal speed ratio of a rotational molding machine given any specific geometry. The model is implemented in Grasshopper for simulating an intertwined geometry. As a validation process, we designed and built a biaxial rotational molding machine and tested various parameters for casting evenly coated photobioreactors. The experiment results showed that the speed ratio of the rotational molding machine, determined by the model, was well fitted to create uniformly coated photobioreactors.