Evolving and growing microstructures of materials using biologically inspired CA

Abstract

The properties of engineering structures, such as robotic arms, aircrafts or bridges, rely on the properties of the materials used to build them. The internal architecture of the material or microstructure determines its properties and therefore, its study is of great interest for engineers and material scientists. Although there are tools that can provide 2D microstructural information, tools that can be used to obtain 3D characterisations of microstructures for routine analysis are not yet available to material scientists. In this paper, we describe Microconstructor. Microconstructor comprises a genetic algorithm that evolves populations of cellular automata inspired by developmental biology that self organises into 3D patterns that can be used for microstructural analysis.