In this work we study the viability of using charged particles, in a generalized Thomson problem, to define the joints of geodesic domes. Good structural characteristics of geodesic domes come from the uniform distribution of dome joints on the surface of the sphere. Classical geodesic domes are constructed through the projection of geodesic polyhedrons on the sphere, which distorts the joint distribution. The HEA algorithm was adapted to perform constrained optimization of the Thomson problem, which alows us to include inserts (holes) in the structure. An approximate distributed load function was defined and used in finite element analysis of different domes. It turns out the stresses in the domes based on Thomson sphere are mostly lower than the ones in a classical geodesic dome, while the joints are more uniformly distributed. An exception arises in the form of 5-7-5-angled defects, where a large lateral force is present due to the use of membranes. The HEA algorithm successfully creates domes with inserts, while the generalized Thomson problem is also useful for controlling the number of joints on the constrained edges of the inserts.
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