THE GEODESIC DOMEa Introduction: Engineers and architects have always held a special interest for structural systems that enable them to cover large spans with minimal interference from internal supports. It is perhaps no surprise then that dome structures, capable of encompassing maximum volume with minimum surface area, are one of the oldest structural forms and have been used in architecture since the earliest times. The earliest geodesic dome was designed and built in 1922 by Walter Bauersfeld in Jena, Germany. It was not until the 1950s, and largely due to the efforts of Buckminster Fuller, that the geodesic dome became a vogue form of design.a Definition: A geodesic dome is a sphere-like structure composed of a complex network of triangles. The triangles create a self-bracing framework that gives structural strength while using a minimum of material. The term geodesicis from Latin, meaning earth dividing. OR A geodesic dome is a hemispherical thin-shell structure (Iattice-shell) based on a geodesic polyhedron. The triangular elements of the dome are structurally rigid and distribute the structural stress throughout the structure, making geodesic domes able to withstand very heavy loads for thei The idea of combining triangles with the arch was pioneered by German engineer Dr. Walther Bauersfeld when he designed the world's first projection planetarium, built in Jena, Germany in 1922. However, it was Buckminster Fuller who conceived the concept of geodesic dome hor Fuller's first patent for a geodesic dome was issued in 1954.a ‘THE CONCEPTS BEHIND THE DOME ‘The sphere uses the "doing more with less" principle in that it encloses the largest volume of interior space with the least amount of surface area thus saving on materials and cost. Fuller reintroduced the idea that when the sphere's diameter is doubled it will quadruple its square footage and produce eight times the volume. “The spherical structure of a dome is one of the most efficient interior atmospheres for human dwellings because air and energy are allowed to circulate without obstruction. This enables heating and cooling to occur naturally. Geodesic shelters have been built all around the world in different climates and temperatures and still they have proven to be the most efficient human shelter one can find. If pressure is applied to a rectangle and a triangle, the rectangle would fold up and be unstable but the triangle withstands the pressure and is much more rigid—in fact the triangle is twice as strong. Thus, if a spherical structure was created from triangles, it would have unparalleled strength.a its decreased surface area requires less building materials. Exposure to cold in the winter and heat in the summer is decreased because, being spherical, there is the least surface area per unity of volume per structure, >The concave interior creates a natural airflow that allows the hot or cool air to flow evenly throughout the dome with the help of return air ducts. >Extrome wind turbulence is lessened because the winds that contribute to heat loss flow smoothly around the dome. > Itacts like a type of giant down-pointing headlight reflector and reflects and concentrates interior heat. This helps prevent radiant heat loss. >The net annual energy savings for a dome owner is 30% less than normal rectilinear homes. This is quite an improvement and helps save the environment from wasted energy. Domes have been designed to withstand high winds and extreme temperatures as seen in the Polar regions.a Much of the durability of Geodesic domes results from the characteristics of triangles, which are the superheroes of shapes. Triangles are the strongest shape because they have fixed angles and don’t distort very easily. Triangles are key to making domes strong. Domes are three-dimensional structures using stable triangles approximating spheres to create multiple load carrying paths from point of load to point of support. The triangle is the only arrangement of structural members that is stable within itself without requiring additional connections at the intersection points to prevent warping of the geometry. In other words, apply pressure to one edge of a triangle, and that force is evenly distributed to the other two sides, which then transmit pressure to adjacent triangles. That cascading distribution of pressure is how geodesic domes efficiently distribute stress along the entire structure, much like the shell of an egg.a How Geodesic Domes Work One of the most common polyhedrons used for geodesic dome designs is called an icosahedron, which is a solid shape composed of 20 flat faces. Each face is an identical equilateral (all sides are equal) triangle. Rotate the edges of those triangles slowly toward an imaginary center and eventually you wind up with a rough version of a sphere, called a geodesic sphere. Cut that sphere in half and you have an approximation of a geodesic dome. Aline is the shortest distance between two points. The word geodesic refers to the shortest distance between two points on a curved surface, and it comes from a Latin word that means “earth dividing.”a Buckminster Fuller based his original design on the sphere division of an icosahedron, although geodesic domes have since been constructed using octahedron and dodecahedron symmetry systems to circumvent Buckminster Fuller’s patent. The aforementioned shapes are all part of the family of platonic solids - polyhedra made up entirely of congruent regular polygons. An icosahedron exploded onto the surface of a sphere produces twenty equilateral spherical triangles, the vertices of which may also be described by the intersection of three great circles (circles with a diameter equal to that of the sphere) and are referred to as geodesic points, such as A, B and C in Figure 2. Fifteen great circles also fully define the primary bracing of a geodesic dome. If the chords that join the vertices are straight lines rather than curves, planar triangles are formed and this creates the geodesic network commonly used in structures.a The primary bracing is truly geodesic, but impractical to use in most circumstances as members quickly develop excessive slenderness ratios as the diameter of the dome increases. To obtain a more regular network, a secondary bracing is introduced, modularly dividing each equilateral triangle into a number of subdivisions. There are two possible classes of geodesic subdivision; for Class | subdivision, the dividing lines are parallel to the edges of the primary bracing (Figure 3); in Class Il, the dividing lines are perpendicular to the primary bracing (Figure 4). Class | subdivision produces geometry where the edges of the triangle lie on a great circle, which leads to simple design of a hemisphere with planar connections; this may not be achieved with a Class Il subdivision. Class Il subdivisions require a smaller number of bar lengths, which is advantageous for fabrication; however, the differences between individual bar lengths are resultantly greater in Class Il dome, and this produces a less uniform stress distribution. Additionally, Class I! domes can only be achieved with an even frequency of subdivisiona A subdivision, or “frequency” is defined by the number of triangles each edge of the primary bracing is divided into (Figure 5). The frequency is often referred to in shorthand as a number, with the prefix “V”. It should be noted that if secondary bracing is introduced, the triangles are no longer perfectly equilateral - the bars forming the skeleton show variations in length, and the number of different lengths required to fabricate the dome increase with the frequency of subdivision, (Odd order frequency domes cannot produce a hemispherical shape, as an equatorial perimeter ring is only produced for even order frequencies. Odd order frequency subdivisions are nominally referred to with the suffix 3/8ths or 5/8ths, to indicate respectively if the ground ring is above or below the equator of the geodesic sphere.a To increase the frequency we have to do two things, first subdivide a face into more triangles EMSs then project out the vertex of each triangle to an imaginary sphere encompassing the dome. See diagram below:a Higher frequency domes just have more subdivisions; the diagram below shows how tv, 2v, 3v, and 4v spheres are subdivided. Notice how only even frequencies have a dividing line exactly across the centre of a sphere, while odd frequency spheres have to be divided slightly above or below the centre line. This is why 3v domes don’t have a flat base and come in 4/9 or 5/9 versions.a Structural behaviour ‘The manner in which a braced dome behaves depends on the configuration of the members.. Fully triangulated domes, such as geodesic domes have a high stiffness in all directions and are kinematically stable (no mechanisms) when idealised as a space truss. ‘A dome which is not fully triangulated is not kinematically stable when idealised as a truss and stiffnesses may vary greatly in different directions on the dome’s surface. While radial cable domes may exhibit greater stiffness to uniform loads, triangulated domes demonstrate greater stiffness to non uniform and concentrated loads. The forces in a geodesic network are an equilibrated combination of tension and compression. Tension forces are global and continuous, while compression forces are local and discontinuous. Buckminster Fuller coined the term tensegrity, ie tensional integrity, to convey the concept of coherence and resilient elasticity of geodesic networks. The triangle is a planar figure which has maximum rigidity accomplished with the least effort Symmetrical triangular systems provide the most economic energy flow, and a geodesic network produces a structural form with self stabilizing properties.a Important terms 4.Tensegrity Tensegrity or tensional integrity is a structural principle based on the use of isolated components in compression inside a net of continuous tension, in such a way that the ‘compressed members (usually bars or struts) do not touch each other and the prestressed tensioned members (usually cables or tendons) delineate the system spatially. Tensegrity structures are structures based on the combination of a few simple design pattern: + Loading members only in pure compression or pure tension, meaning the structure will only fail if the cables yield or the rods buckle Preload or tensional prestress, which allows cables to be rigid in tension Mechanical stability, which allows the members to remain in tension/compression as stress on the structure increases Because of these patterns, no structural member experiences a bending moment. This can produce exceptionally rigid structures for their mass and for the cross section of the ‘components.7a 2.Platonic Solids: There are six platonic solids namely tetrahedron, octahedron, hexahedron, icosahedron and dodecahedron. Geodesic domes can be made from tetrahedron, octahedron and icosahedron. Though they are approximations to sphere, icosahedron is very close and also beginning with a tetrahedron can create serious problems and with an octahedron will make avery complex structure. Hence, itis safe to begin with an icosahedron Tekrahedron Ieosatiedon Dodecahedron Octahedrona + The degree of compactness in a building correlates with its resistance against seismic shock. A hemispherical structure is the most geometrically possible compact form of construction, enclosing maximum volume with minimum surface area. + Reinforcing elements should be rigid and symmetrically organised, located close to the building boundary and distributed evenly throughout the structure; the geodesic skeleton does exactly this. * The centre of gravity should be as low as possible. A dome has a lower mass point than any cuboid structure of similar proportions. * The construction should be elastic and deformable to a certain extent, especially through the core grid.a Strengths and weaknesses A dome is a typical example of a synclastic surface, where surfaces are of positive Gaussian curvature; i.e, where the curvature of any point is the same sign in all directions. Synclastic surfaces are not developable; i.e. they can not be flattened into a plane without shrinking or stretching of the chords. This is why, in practice, domes cannot be built from one uniform member size. However, it is observed that geodesic domes are exceptionally good in this respect; even for sizable spans only a small number of different bars sizes are required, making the structure ideal for optimising the manufacture of components and prefabrication. In high risk earthquake areas such as Japan, quake resistant designs have evolved through trial and error exercises over the centuries. Modern design guidelines have emerged from such empirical data; the rules listed below are extracts from a planning aid for architects and engineers and are used to highlight some of the properties that make the geodesic dome a highly earthquake resistant design.a * The degree of compactness in a building correlates with its resistance against seismic shock. A hemispherical structure is the most geometrically possible compact form of construction, enclosing maximum volume with minimum surface area. + Reinforcing elements should be rigid and symmetrically organised, located close to the building boundary and distributed evenly throughout the structure; the geodesic skeleton does exactly this. +The centre of gravity should be as low as possible. A dome has a lower mass point than any cuboid structure of similar proportions. * The construction should be elastic and deformable to a certain extent, especially through the core grid.a The geodesic dome is, however, not without disadvantages, + One complaint is that the perimeter chords following the shape of an icosahedron produce an irregular or ragged line that may be objectionable on architectural grounds; the aesthetic appearance of the dome is largely dependent on how these closures are treated. + The most common objections are functionalist; due to the hemispherical shape of the structure, effective sound isolation is difficult to achieve through partitioning of rooms, leading to a perceived loss of privacy. + Furniture, unless custom made, also presents a problem due to the curved walls of the structure which can result in some loss of spacea Structural analysis of the Dome Analysing a structure to find out how much load it can withstand before actually building it can save a huge amount of time, effort and materials; not to mention being able to sleep at night knowing your structure won’'t fall down if it gets a bit windy. Having said that, the cost of employing a structural engineer to analyse and calculate the mechanical, wind and snow loads on a structure can also be pretty costly and time consuming. Guessing what size materials you need or copying what someone else has done is still what most people do, but you're left with little or no idea what loads a structure will carry, when or where a failure will occur or if there is a better, more cost effective way to build in the first place.