Partial Covering of a Circle by 6 and 7 Congruent Circles
Background: Some medical and technological tasks lead to the geometrical problem of how to cover the unit circle as much as possible by n congruent circles of given radius r, while r varies from the radius in the maximum packing to the radius in the minimum covering. Proven or conjectural solutions...
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Veröffentlicht in: | Symmetry (Basel) 2021-11, Vol.13 (11), p.2133, Article 2133 |
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Format: | Artikel |
Sprache: | eng |
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Zusammenfassung: | Background: Some medical and technological tasks lead to the geometrical problem of how to cover the unit circle as much as possible by n congruent circles of given radius r, while r varies from the radius in the maximum packing to the radius in the minimum covering. Proven or conjectural solutions to this partial covering problem are known only for n = 2 to 5. In the present paper, numerical solutions are given to this problem for n = 6 and 7. Method: The method used transforms the geometrical problem to a mechanical one, where the solution to the geometrical problem is obtained by finding the self-stress positions of a generalised tensegrity structure. This method was developed by the authors and was published in an earlier publication. Results: The method applied results in locally optimal circle arrangements. The numerical data for the special circle arrangements are presented in a tabular form, and in drawings of the arrangements. Conclusion: It was found that the case of n = 6 is very complicated, whilst the case n = 7 is very simple. It is shown in this paper that locally optimal arrangements may exhibit different types of symmetry, and equilibrium paths may bifurcate. |
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ISSN: | 2073-8994 2073-8994 |
DOI: | 10.3390/sym13112133 |