There are several shapes that are used when strength is important. The arc (think: circle) is the strongest structural shape, and in nature, the sphere is the strongest 3-d shape. The reason being is that stress is distributed equally along the arc instead of concentrating at any one point.
In geometry, the rhombicosidodecahedron is an Archimedean solid, one of thirteen convex isogonal nonprismatic solids constructed of two or more types of regular polygon faces. It has 20 regular triangular faces, 30 square faces, 12 regular pentagonal faces, 60 vertices, and 120 edges.
Therefore, triangles are the strongest shape. This idea is supported by research and real uses of triangles in construction and design. I learned that triangles are the most rigid shape because forces on a triangle are distributed evenly along its three sides.
Diamond. The diamond shaped face is the rarest of face shapes, and is defined by a narrow forehead, wide cheekbones and a narrow chin.
When used properly, triangles are the most stable and rigid shapes used in construction today.
H-Beams. One of the strongest steel beams on the list, H-beams, is made up of horizontal elements, while the vertical beams act as the web. The flanges and web create a cross-section that mimics the shape of the letter “H” and are popular in construction or civil engineering projects.
Though I-beams can prevent local buckling, they will not be able to handle the same force as an H-beam due to their lighter design. Overall, the title of “Stronger Beam” goes to H-beams. An H-beam's durability comes from its strength-to-weight ratio in the cross-section.
The hexagon is the strongest shape known. Not many people know this but if you want something to hold a lot of weight pick a hexagon.
It is impossible to collapse a triangle without breaking one of its sides, which makes it the strongest straight-edge shape. For this reason, you will see triangles in lots of bridges.
In geometry, an apeirogon (from Ancient Greek ἄπειρος apeiros 'infinite, boundless', and γωνία gonia 'angle') or infinite polygon is a polygon with an infinite number of sides.
Triangles are the strongest shape there is. Any weight placed on them is evenly distributed on all 3 sides. They represent geometric sturdiness; no matter how much weight you put on any side, it will not break.
The most obvious shapes that come to mind are squares, rectangles, triangles, diamonds, circles and ovals. These shapes are easily identified and have been given names.
A pyramid is a shape that can fit all shapes inside of it (triangle, square, rectangle, etc.). In geometry, a pyramid is also called a polyhedron.
A 100-sided polygon, virtually indistinguishable in appearance from a circle except at very high magnification.
The icosahedron – 20-sided polyhedron – is frequent.
Hexagons are the most common shape found in nature. If a snowflake were to be traced around the edges, the shape of a hexagon would appear. Plane geometry is all around in the natural world.
The triangle has three corners to support its load, the square has four, the hexagon has six and the octagon has eight corners. In contrast, the circle can be viewed as having 360 corners. Thus, the circle is by far the strongest shaped column.
Look at a steel or wooden bridge and often you will see triangle shapes making up most of the bridge's support structure. These are called truss bridges. Triangles are structurally the strongest shape because they allow weight to be evenly spread throughout a structure, allowing it to support heavy loads.
Laminated Glass (aka “Shatterproof Glass”)
In the window industry, unbreakable laminated glass is often tossed around as “shatterproof glass.” This has become a catch-all term that vaguely defines a certain variety of laminated security glass products.
Polycarbonate Unbreakable Glass
A polycarbonate window is much more difficult to break through than a standard glass window. In fact, according to some estimates a polycarbonate window is over 200 times more resistant to impact!
You will basically never see a rectangle in nature. Nature has NOT selected the rectangle as a useful shape, only man does this. Greek geometry, and all the math, starts with rectangles. The Western mind thinks “inside the box” which is rectangular, more than just metaphorically.
Diamonds are one of the strongest materials on earth, but it's not stronger than steel or several minerals. In fact, as you may know, most diamonds are all but indestructible, due to the unique arrangement and bonding of the carbon atoms they are made up of.
Impact strength determines how much energy a metal can absorb through impact without shattering or fracturing. Tungsten, which is Swedish for "heavy stone," is the strongest metal in the world. It was identified as a new element in 1781.
There's no doubt that brick is a tough materials, but steel holds its own as one of the strongest and most long lasting construction materials on the market.