Gridshells: From Materials to Structures

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Civil Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 May 2022) | Viewed by 15991

Special Issue Editors

Agricultural and Forestry Engineering Department, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Interests: gridshells; timber structures; wood characterization; timber connections; FEM analysis; structural analysis and design
Department of Building Structures and Physics, School of Architecture, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Interests: gridshells; timber structures; wood characterization; timber connections; fracture mechanics; structural analysis and design
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We kindly invite you to consider submitting your full paper to the upcoming Special Issue titled “Gridshells: From Materials to Structures”.

Gridshells are currently enjoying growing and renewed interest among architects and engineers. Its structural concept, based on the creation of curved surfaces from a grid of elements, makes highly efficient solutions possible in the use of materials, while offering a lightweight and impressive architectural appearance. Research on new materials and connection systems, the continuous development of digital tools for design and structural analysis, advanced manufacturing, and current innovative realizations are extending the limits of application and formalization of this fascinating type of structure. This Special Issue aims to gather the most recent advances in gridshell structures, and aims to explore new directions for the future. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • New developments or innovative applications of materials
  • Formal exploration, geometrical design, and form-finding
  • Innovative connection systems
  • Structural analysis
  • Optimization
  • Digital fabrication
  • Integration of digital tools
  • Detailing and construction
  • Case studies

Review articles describing the current state of the art in similar topics are of further interest.

Prof. Dr. Manuel Guaita Fernández
Dr. Almudena Majano-Majano
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • gridshells
  • lattice shells
  • material characterisation
  • form-finding
  • structural analysis
  • optimization
  • connections
  • digital fabrication
  • active bending

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 1716 KiB  
Article
Design Exploration of Bamboo Shells Structures by Using Parametric Tools
by María Guadalupe Estrada Meza, Edwin González Meza, Doris Abigail Chi Pool and Jaqueline Sofía McNamara Trujillo
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(15), 7522; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app12157522 - 26 Jul 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1870
Abstract
Bamboo is a promising material for structural use due to its mechanical properties and rapid growth. Currently, standards and codes to support the analysis and calculation of bamboo structures are still scarce. Even international standards do not include specifications for the design of [...] Read more.
Bamboo is a promising material for structural use due to its mechanical properties and rapid growth. Currently, standards and codes to support the analysis and calculation of bamboo structures are still scarce. Even international standards do not include specifications for the design of complex geometries. This work aimed to verify the use of parametric tools to design complex shapes. First, the NSR-10 Colombian code was used to analytically solve and design the mechanical behavior of double-curved shells. Then, the results were compared to those calculated with the add-on Karamba3D. Lastly, verification was considered successful when both results coincided. Here, it should be noticed that the resultant data might lead to plastic deformation of the cylinder head. However, this work did not intend to formulate structural designs whose beams effectively support the requested stresses but focused on the verification of software applications. Once the software was verified, this work further analyzed the structural behavior of two double curvature geometries simulated with bamboo, showing that digital simulation tools have the potential to be applied during the early structural design phases. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gridshells: From Materials to Structures)
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17 pages, 8641 KiB  
Article
A Grasshopper Plugin for Finite Element Analysis with Solid Elements and Its Application on Gridshell Nodes
by Sverre Magnus Haakonsen, Steinar Hillersøy Dyvik, Marcin Luczkowski and Anders Rønnquist
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(12), 6037; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app12126037 - 14 Jun 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3588
Abstract
Linking architectural models to structural analyses can be demanding and time-consuming, especially when the architectural models cannot be accurately analysed using readily available one- or two-dimensional finite elements. This paper presents a tool for finite element analysis using solid elements developed as a [...] Read more.
Linking architectural models to structural analyses can be demanding and time-consuming, especially when the architectural models cannot be accurately analysed using readily available one- or two-dimensional finite elements. This paper presents a tool for finite element analysis using solid elements developed as a plugin for Grasshopper 3D® that enables designers to include analyses of complex objects within the same software as the design exploration. A benchmark using the tool on a cantilever beam is compared with both ANSYS® and the theoretical solution, before the versatility of the tool is demonstrated by analyzing the metal part in timber gridshell nodes. The results were satisfying and the tool can prove especially useful for early phase design and collaboration between diciplines. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gridshells: From Materials to Structures)
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26 pages, 9944 KiB  
Article
Structural Analysis and Form-Finding of Triaxial Elastic Timber Gridshells Considering Interlayer Slips: Numerical Modelling and Full-Scale Test
by Antonio José Lara-Bocanegra, Almudena Majano-Majano, Juan Ortiz and Manuel Guaita
Appl. Sci. 2022, 12(11), 5335; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app12115335 - 25 May 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2320
Abstract
Elastic timber gridshells are lightweight structures whose stiffness is highly dependent on multiple factors, such as boundary conditions and the semi-rigidity and eccentricity of the joints. Their structural analysis requires calibrated numerical models that incorporate all aspects influencing stiffness. Unfortunately, very little research [...] Read more.
Elastic timber gridshells are lightweight structures whose stiffness is highly dependent on multiple factors, such as boundary conditions and the semi-rigidity and eccentricity of the joints. Their structural analysis requires calibrated numerical models that incorporate all aspects influencing stiffness. Unfortunately, very little research on experimentally verified numerical models can be found. This paper focuses on the structural behaviour of a novel concept of triaxial elastic long-gridshells supported only on their short sides, called by the authors TEL-gridshells. First, the most relevant details of the construction process and the load test of a full-scale laboratory prototype are presented. Then, two finite element models for structural analysis and form-finding are proposed. Both are based on the modelling of the joints using a series of aligned couplings that allow the integration of the actual joint eccentricity and the interlayer slip by means of springs in all shear planes. The first model replicates the geometry of the prototype built from experimental measurements, focusing on stiffness calibration. The results of the load test are used to verify the proposed model and to analyse the most influential aspects on the stiffness of the structure. The second is a form-finding model that reproduces the construction process of the laboratory prototype, focusing on the residual stresses generated during the deformation process of the structural elements. From the numerical results, the structural behaviour of the prototype is discussed and some of the main aspects to be considered in the design and structural analysis of TEL-gridshells are established. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gridshells: From Materials to Structures)
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20 pages, 7468 KiB  
Article
Gridshells in Recent Research—A Systematic Mapping Study
by Steinar Hillersøy Dyvik, Bendik Manum and Anders Rønnquist
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(24), 11731; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app112411731 - 10 Dec 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 6481
Abstract
Gridshells are shells where the structural system is some kind of grid of linear members rather than a surface. With today’s focus on environmentally friendly solutions, gridshells have gained increased relevance as inherently material-efficient structures. This paper investigates the recent research on gridshells, [...] Read more.
Gridshells are shells where the structural system is some kind of grid of linear members rather than a surface. With today’s focus on environmentally friendly solutions, gridshells have gained increased relevance as inherently material-efficient structures. This paper investigates the recent research on gridshells, who performs it and what their contributions are, and will thus provide an overview of the research field of gridshells. This study is performed as a systematic mapping. The articles were categorised by research type, motivation, contribution, gridshell type, material, and scientific field. The study shows that most articles are within structural engineering, whereas contributions from architecture were hard to find. The typical study was theoretical studies performing analyses on a specific load or structural behaviour. Some possible knowledge gaps were also identified, including review articles on loads and behaviour, research on bending active metal gridshells and development of gridshell nodes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gridshells: From Materials to Structures)
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