University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Free form finding of grid shell structures

Jiang, Yang

Content Files
FormFinding_MATLAB_YJ_Thesis.rar
JIANG-THESIS-2015.pdf

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/89080

Description

Title
Free form finding of grid shell structures
Author(s)
Jiang, Yang
Issue Date
2015-12-11
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Paulino, Glaucio H
Department of Study
Civil & Environmental Engineering
Discipline
Civil Engineering
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
M.S.
Degree Level
Thesis
Date of Ingest
2016-03-02T19:45:04Z
Keyword(s)
  • Form Finding
  • Grid Shell
Abstract
The general shape of a shell structure can have a great impact on its structural performance. This thesis presents a numerical implementation that finds the funicular form of grid shell structures. Two methods are implemented for the form finding: the potential energy method (PEM) and the force density method (FDM). The PEM, inspired by the 3D hanging chain model, find the funicular form by minimization of the total potential energy. On the other hand, the FDM find the funicular form by solving a linear system, in which a geometric stiffness matrix is constructed with the force density and nodal connectivity information. The form finding process is nonlinear, because the nodal loads are calculated with the rationale of tributary area and evolve with the structural form. Apart from the form finding, a member sizing procedure is implemented for a preliminary estimation of the member cross sectional area. In the member sizing, the stress-ratio method is used to achieve a fully-stressed design. Finally, three numerical examples are examined to demonstrate the effectiveness of the current implementation.
Graduation Semester
2015-12
Type of Resource
text
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/89080
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2015 Yang Jiang

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