In Halo (sculpture), how is the Engineering of the Design elucidated?
The components were made of carbon fibre joined together by stainless-steel connections.  As the ring's turning speed and tilting angle are dependent on wind force, detailed finite element analysis and wind tunnel tests were carried out to enable the minimum use of materials and fixtures to provide a stiff and stable structure in real wind conditions.Mechanical engineer, Arran Gordon of Partridge, designed a bearing unit that uses a 12mm diameter partially stabilised zirconia ceramic ball to deliver an almost frictionless encircling motion while balancing the entire weight of the ring and arm, allowing the sculpture to pick up and create swaying momentum in winds as low as 2 km/h.  The unit has a capacity designed for extreme weather conditions, with brakes in place to absorb and dampen the motion at higher revolutions and degrees of pitch.
carbon fibre stainless-steel partially stabilised zirconia ceramic wind tunnel tests finite element analysis