75204 - Design of Large-Scale Structures

Course contents

 1. INTRODUCTION: STRUCTURES DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE
     a) Current aspects of structural architecture and technological ethics
     b) Design as conceptual holistic synthesis
     c) Workflow of the design process
     d) From massive to light structures
     e) The arch, the rope and the beam

 2. INTRODUCTION TO STRUCTURE DYNAMICS
     a) Single dof
        - Free vibrations
        - Harmonic force
        - Duhamel's integral
     b) Multiple dofs
        - Modal analysis
        - Response spectrum analysis

 3. TRUSS STRUCTURES
     a) Typologies
        - One layer structures: simple and double courvature
        - Multiple layers: plane single and double courvature
     b) Morphology of spatial truss structures
        - Foundamental shapes
        - Formex algebra
        - Free form structures (NURBS)
        - Shape optimization – Addressed topic I
        - Topological description of truss structures: Tu Delft
        - Equilibrium stability for single layer truss structures - Addressed topic II
        - Materials and structural details (nodes,constrains, tolerances)
        - Assembling methods
        - Examples

 5. TENSOSTRUCTURES
     a) Suspension and cable-stayed bridges
        - Typologies
        - Pedestrian footbridges comfort - Addressed topic III
        - Examples
     b) Suspended roofs: tensostructures mechanics
        - The rope structural element: the f/l ratio
        - Geometric stabilization for isolated ropes
        - Stabilization of plane cable systems
        - Roof systems generated by plane tensostructural systems
        - Spatial systems: hyperbolic paraboloid, free form nets, double layer nets, pneumatic structures, membranes.
        - Pre-stressed membranes
        - Design of the geometric and tensional initial state: State 0
        - The architectural model
        - The mathematical model: geometry as a consequence of the stress state
        - Computational design of the State 0
        - Approximated analyses
        - The state variation: load cases and resistance assessment  – Addressed topic IV
        - Materials and structural details (ropes, anchorages)
        - High resistance structural membranes
        - Examples

 4. HYBRID STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS, TENSEGRITY AND OPENABLE ROOFING SYSTEMS
     a) Reinforced beams
        - Historic evolution (Polonceau and reinforced arch)
        - Typologies
        - Axial stress in trusses for hybrid structures
        - Pretension (control of stresses/displacements)
        - Methods for inducing pretension
        - Examples
     b) Tensegrity
        - Elementary cells
        - Application to roofing
        - Examples of existing structures
        - Examples of openable roofing

 5. WIND EFFECTS ON STRUCTURES
     a) The wind action
     b) Aerodynamic instabilities
        - Vortex shedding
        - Torsional divergence
        - Galloping
        - Flutter
     c) CFD in wind engineering

Assessment methods

The exame consists in the developement and presentation of a project on the base of the structural typologies presented in the course. The activity must be accoplished in groups (maximum 3 students). The project must include:
    1. Motivations for the structural typology
    2. Load analysis
    3. Preliminar structural model
    4. Structural elements pre-design
    5. Outline of the most relevant structural details

Office hours

See the website of Massimo Majowiecki