2010 ASCE Student Structural Design Competition

Abtract

Following in the footsteps of the British Museum Great Court Roof and Dutch Maritime Museum projects, a steel and glass gridshell roof is designed as a retrofit over an unused courtyard. An integrated digital design to construction workflow is implemented to enable the design stage to proceed rapidly. Included in this workflow is an advanced numeric form finding method to assure that the architectural form is generated from structural principles. This produces a more efficient structure, while maintaining a visual order and distinct elegance. The structural analysis includes local and global strength, serviceability and stability considerations. In particular, nonlinear buckling analysis is employed to check for safety against global buckling. As the integrated workflow made it relatively easy to evaluate multiple design options without rebuilding the model from scratch, the final design is selected based on material use efficiency, in addition to aesthetic appeal.

Final Design

Physics Building Gridshell Roof

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Gridshell Roof for University Physics Building

Project Introduction
Location: New Jersey History: Initial Building 1970, roof refinished 1993, addition 1996 Materials: Reinforced Concrete, Steel (structural), Canadian Granite and Brick (architectural) Function: Physics Departments offices, labs, classrooms and library Objective: retrofit building with a roof to cover the central courtyard
(Facilities and Housing, 2007)

Project Brief: Due to freezing rain and snow during the winter months, and wet summers, the courtyard goes largely unused. With a roof preventing snow, ice and rain from accumulating in the courtyard, the Physics Department hopes to increase usage of the patio and terraced balconies. However, as many of the faculty offices face into the courtyard, the roof must still permit natural light to pass through. The existing frame may be used to bear gravity loads, but the magnitude of these loads must first be checked with modern design codes. Structural design must be conducted according to the ASCE 07-05 Minimal Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures standard and AISC 2006 Load and Resistance Factor Design manual. The project goal is to create an elegant structure that minimizes material use while ensuring structural stability, and to complete the design stage in less than one month.

Four corner views: starting with tower and proceeding clockwise about courtyard

Existing Building Corner Views (photos by author)

*certain names and details omitted to prevent name and affiliation identification Dept of Facilities and Housing. University Architect. 2007. December 2009 <http://www.*********.edu/facilities/university_architect/>.

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Design Methodology

Integrated Digital Design to Construction Workflow

The use of an architectural parametric model is appropriate as it will allow a rapid generation and evaluation of design options, a necessity for the short design timeframe. Grasshopper, a parametric modeling plugin to Rhino (3D CAD modeling), is used to generate and store the geometric data. When a dimension or geometric property is adjusted, this information automatically progagates downstream through the model. This process circumvents the need to rebuild the model from scratch during each iteration, allowing design options to be quickly generated and evaluated.

A steel and glass gridshell has been chosen as the roof type, as this would allow sunlight to pass while preventing snow, ice and rain from covering the courtyard. Gridshells typically use materials efficiently relative to other structural topologies and have been successfully employed on similar projects such as the British Museum Great Court Roof and Dutch Maritime Museum.Slender steel sections will give a lightweight appearance while the high strength to cross sectional area ratio of steel is required to carry the heavy glass facets. The glass will be purely architectural, not contributing to the gridshell stiffness.

British Museum (photo by author)

Dutch Maritime Museum (Ney and Partners, 2010)

To find an efficient 3D form, the Dynamic Relaxation (DR) form finding method is employed. The input file for the DR program is generated in the Grasshopper model from a set of boundary constraints, loading conditions, material properties and 2D node and link data. The resulting 3D nodal coordinates are then copy and pasted into Autodesks Robot finite element program for structural analysis.
Ney and Partners. Projects: Netherlands Maritime Museum. 2010. 2 January 2010 <http://www.ney.be/en/fiche-projets.php?pid=50>.

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Existing Frame

Excess Bearing Capacity of Relevant Columns and Foundations

To determine whether the existing columns and foundations lining the interior of the courtyard may be used to support the weight of the roof, an approximate calculation of bearing capacity is used. The tributary areas and loadings for the 11 interior columns are similar, so column 2 is taken as representative.

Structural Drawing (Facilities and Housing, 2007, edited by author)

Structural Drawing (Facilities and Housing, 2007, edited by author)

Steel Column Section: 14 W 127 Effective Length of 16: cPn = 1440 kips Soil: SF = 3
Level Roof 4th 3rd 2nd 1st A Column Total B Footing Total 1.0 D 40.83 40.83 80.58 80.58 80.58 80.58 80.58 484.6 1.2 D 49.00 49.00 96.70 96.70 96.70 96.70 484.80 96.70 1.4 D 57.17 57.17 112.80 112.80 112.80 112.80 565.54 112.80

Footing Area: 9 x 9 = 81 ft2 Bearing Capacity = 5 tons/ft2 = 10,000 lbs/ft2

1.0 L 14.58 51.03 51.03 72.90 29.16 38.88 257.58

1.6 L 23.33 81.65 81.65 116.64 46.65 349.92 62.21

0.5 Lr 3.51 3.51 -

1.0 Lr 7.02 -

7.02 *All units = kips

1.6 Lr 11.23 11.23 -

Column: Base:

Critical Factored Gravity Loads = 838.23 kips < 1440 kips, SAFE Excess Capacity = 601.77 kips, 41.8% 749kips/(4.69ft^2 )=159,800lbsft^2 >143,333lbsft^2 FAIL

Using approximate method of analysis, the foundations clearly cannot take the weight of the new roof. These loads do not even take into account any lateral loads that the building may experience, which would excentuate the loading effects. A new support structure must be designed.
Dept of Facilities and Housing. University Architect. 2007. December 2009 <http://www.*********.edu/facilities/university_architect/>.

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Form Finding

Generating an Efficient 2D Form

The 2D geometry was generated by rotating Mitchell frames about the origin, creating a structurally efficient system for carrying the lateral wind loads.

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Form Finding

Generating an Efficient 3D Form

To find the 3D geometry, Dynamic Relaxation form finding was employed. This is a numerical method similar to physical hanging chain techniques, producing a 3D catenary shape that is free of bending stresses under the prescribed loads (which is self weight + applied loads in a physical hanging chain model). The method is initialized by specifying stresses for each structural element. As the starting shape is arbitrary and inaccurate for the given load conditions, the force imbalances cause displacements. The nodal movements are then kinematically damped by an iterative process until all element stresses are resolved.
(Adriaenssens, 2000)

Dynamic Relaxation computational process proceeds as such: 1. set all residual/resultant forces, nodal velocities and kinetic energy equal to zero 2. set residual forces equal to applied loads plus current link forces 3. reset residual forces of constrained nodes equal to zero 4. calculate nodal velocities and update geometry 5. calculate current kinetic energy, if it is a peak, iterate from step 1, otherwise from step 2 6. Stop and assume convergence when all nodal vibrations, residual forces and current kinetic energies are satisfactorly small (Adriaenssens, 2000)

Adriaenssens, Sigrid. "Stressed Spline Structures." Doctoral Thesis, University of Bath (2000).

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Gravity Loads

Dead, Live Roof, Snow and Rain Loads

Dead Loads: self weight of frame (to be determined in FE model) + glass facets (10.24 psf) Live Roof Loads: no LL reductions so 20psf or 300lbs concentrated Snow Loads: Classified as a slippery roof, but with obstacles. Drift surcharge is a controlling factor. Snow Balanced Unbalanced Max Drift Loads Load Ps (psf) Load Ps (psf) Surcharge Pd (psf) 23.1 11.55 46.2 Leeward 77.625 (on 20) 23.1 Windward

Rain Loads: static head < 4, and no additional depth from secondary drainage (overflow) system Load = 5.2(4 + 0)=20.8 < Snow Load

Lateral Loads

Earthquake and Wind Loads

*The lateral load bearing system is structurally dependent on the existing building, although for the purposes of this design project, it is assumed that the gridshell roof acts structurally independent. This assumption defies Appendix 11B Existing Building Provisions of ASCE 7-05, and the author acknoledges that for a complete design this provision must be accounted for.

Wind Loads: Basic Wind Speed (V) = 100 mph, Importance factor (I) =1.15, Exposure Category B (urban area), Height and Exposure Adjustment Factor () = 1.09, Topographical Factor (Kzt) = 1, PS30 Upwind Downwind Horizontal 3.3 -6.4 -9.7 Vertical Upwind Downwind Min PS Horizontal 10.00 Vertical Upwind Downwind PS Horizontal 4.14 -8.02 -12.16 Vertical *pressures in psf

Earthquake Loads: This area has a low seismic activity, with the corresponding values from the Bay Area over 4x greater. As earthquake loads will not control the design, a conservative assumed value will be applied in lieu of designing by code. If the load combinations that include earthquake forces prove to control the design, then this loading aspect will be revisited in greater detail.

Relevant Load Combinations

Combination (LRFD) 1.4 D 1.2 D + 1.6 (Lr or S or R) +0.8 W 1.2 D + 1.6 W + 0.5 (Lr or S or R)

Max EQ ground motion considered for a 0.2 second spectral response acceleration (ASCE,2007)

According to Load & Resistance Factor Design

1 3 4 Combination (LRFD) 5* 1.2 D + E + 0.2 S 6 0.9 D + 1.6 W 7* 0.9 D + E

ASCE. Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures. Design Standard. Reston, Virginia: American Society of Civil Engineers, 2007.

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Gridshel Frame Design

Strength Consideration: Member Bending Moments, Axial and Shear Forces

Maximum axial forces were just under 500Kips and maximum bending moments (in plane of the gridshell surface) remained below 600Kipft. Hollow rectangular sections were chosen, tapering from large section areas at the bondary to thin members at the center where the frame density is greater.

Minor axis bending moments acting midway along the peripheral beam were quite significant. Larger HSS (rectangular) sections were employed, rotated 90 degrees so that the primary axis takes the larger moments.

Stiffness: Servicability Deformation Requirement of Brittle Glass Cladding

For serviceability limit states involving visually objectional deformations, repairable cracking or other damage to interior finishes and other short term effects, (ASCE, 2007) the appropriate Load Combinations are: D + 0.5S and D + Lr While typical deflection limits are given as ranging from L/150 to L/360, the more stringent of these requirements is suitable. The glass facets are a brittle finish and so L/360 is taken as the serviceability limit under the mentioned load cases. As gridshells are not explicity specified in design codes and do not fit neatly as a beam or column, or even as a thin shell dome, designing for deflection limits required some ingenuity. The length value was taken as the length of local deflections, visible as convex sections on the otherwise concave gridshell cross section. The start and end points of this length were taken as the zero moment locations. Displacement was measured as the maximum distance between the buckled shape and the line connecting the starting and end points.

ASCE. Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures. Design Standard. Reston, Virginia: American Society of Civil Engineers, 2007.

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Gridshell Frame Design

Stability Consideration: Global Buckling Critical Analysis To ensure global stability, a nonlinear buckling analysis was conducted over 10 modes. The finite element software was used to determine the load proportionality factor, . This value depends on the applied loads, and the systems safety limit forces can be found by multiplying the factor by the maximum member force resulting from the nonlinear analysis. Eigenfrequency A dynamic analysis was conducted to determine the harmonic eigenfrequency of the structure. As the structure would be subjected to wind and earthquake loads, we wished to keep this value below ~2.5, so as to prevent any interaction phenomenon. The 2.4 value was sufficient.

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Construction

Conceptual Connection Design and Construction Sequencing

Given the member slenderness and high stresses that the elements experience, the connection details lend themselves to welded connections. A similar configuration was used in the British Museum Great Court Roof. To efficiently manufacture and assemble the roof, the gridshell will be constructed as 9 prefabricated sections. Mass Customization manfuacturing processes make it economical to fabricate non standardized, unique elements, although assembling such as tstructure would be difficult. By welding large sections together in the shop, the on site construction time can be greatly reduced.

Welded Connections of British Museum (photo by author)

Final Design Choices

Efficiencies of Design Options
The Mitchell frame geometry proved to be a rational method of defining the form, although it is hard to say whether it was a more efficient system. This gridshell design will be built later this month as a scale model, with the frame elements month as scale model, with the frame nth nt t scale odel c h he rame rame laser-cut Plexiglas sheets and assembled with adhesives. fabricated from custom, laser-cut Plexiglas sheets and assembled with adhesives. aser u P ex g a hee s nd s embl d erets t adhesives. e

Buro Happold. Engineering the glass and steel roof to the British Museum Great Court Roof. 1999. 1 January 2010.

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