Journal of Constructional Steel Research 96 (2014) 151–158

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Journal of Constructional Steel Research

Advanced high strength steel tube diagrid using TRIZ and nonlinear
pushover analysis
Dongkyu Lee a, Soomi Shin b,⁎
a
Department of Architectural Engineering, Sejong University, Seoul, 143–747, Republic of Korea
b
Research Institute of Industrial Technology, Pusan National University, Busan, 609–735, Republic of Korea

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The goal of this study is to provide engineers and designers with a good indication of TRIZ methodologies and
Received 24 May 2013 evaluate new high performance steel diagrid details to resolve the problematic aspects of steel diagrid structures
Accepted 5 January 2014 such as the concentration of stress at the ends of the tube contacted to cap plates. The present steel diagrid is a
Available online 17 February 2014
new trend of structural systems nowadays for free-formed tall buildings, to which high performance steel with
tensile stress of 800 MPa and a low yielding ratio can be applied.
Keywords:
Diagrid
TRIZ is a problem-solving, analysis and forecasting tool derived from the study of patterns of invention in the
Stress concentration global patent literature. This study confirms that the TRIZ process can be a strong idea generation tool for devel-
High performance steel oping structural details to improve the behaviors of existing structures. Finally, the effectiveness of the new struc-
Free-formed building tural diagrid detail information is presented in this study using actual nonlinear static pushover analysis.
Structural system © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Nonlinear pushover analysis

1. Introduction
Diagrid [1,2] is a new trend of structural systems [3,4] nowadays
which is appropriate for free formed tall buildings that are classified as
3 T, i.e., tapered, twisted, and tilted, as described in, respectively,
Fig. 1(a) in England, Fig. 1(b) in Japan, and Fig. 1(c) in UAE.
As described in Ali and Moon [3,5], classical structural systems such
as rigid frame, framed tube, and framed shear truss, which consist of
vertical columns and horizontal beams cannot create free and complex
formed designs for tall buildings owing to their original fixed box
frames.
A diagrid is formed by intersecting diagonal and horizontal compo-
nents. This innovation transfers both gravity loads and lateral loads by
redirecting member forces, and eliminates the need for vertical mega
columns on the exterior of the building. Architecturally the absence of
columns in the corners of the building enables great panoramic views
and extends the useful space from the interior.
The new structural system consists of a diagrid perimeter, which
is composed of a network of multi-story tall triangulated truss sys-
tems. The first detailed structural analysis of diagrid was performed
in 1932 [6], and the system was first introduced in the United
States in Chicago's John Hancock Center [7], which was completed
in 1969.
⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +82 10 3869 6618; fax: +82 51 512 0311.
E-mail address: shinsumi82@pusan.ac.kr (S. Shin).
In Korea, the Cyclone Tower located in Chung-Nam Asan Bebang re-
gion was planned as a diagrid structural system for construction in
2008, the first attempt at diagrid construction in Korea. A specific design
detail of diagrid structural systems was applied to the Cyclone Tower. It
was considered by many engineers and designers to be an ideal diagrid
due to its simplicity, as shown in Fig. 2. Nevertheless, the diagrid detail
has various problems, including the interference of extended cap plates
and stress concentrations at the end of tubes, and these have to be
resolved.
To resolve the problems resulting from the diagrid, a TRIZ evaluation
[8,9] is presented in this study. TRIZ is a problem-solving, analysis and
forecasting tool derived from the study of patterns of invention in the
global patent literature. TRIZ was developed by the Soviet inventor
and science fiction author Genrich Altshuller and his colleagues, begin-
ning in 1946. In English the name is typically rendered as the theory of
inventive problem solving.
The present TRIZ evaluation is a process of defining existing problems,
i.e., gaps between the present and ideal situations, solving the technical
or physical contradictions of defined problems by using solving tools
such as function analyses, designing conceptual solutions by using mea-
surement tools such as structural analyses, and implementing solutions
through practical means such as patents and site applications, in turn.
This study is divided into 5 sections. Following Section 1, which de-
scribes the scope, objective, and organization in this study, Section 2
shows the present TRIZ procedures which consist of defining, solving,
designing, and implementing to improve the existing best diagrid
structures. Notably, the problems of the existing diagrid details and
the TRIZ tool for solving the problems are described. In Section 3,

0143-974X/$ – see front matter © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcsr.2014.01.005
152 D. Lee, S. Shin / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 96 (2014) 151–158

a) 30 St. MaryAxe b) Mode Gakuen Spiral Tower c) Capital Gate

Fig. 1. Free formed tall buildings and 3 T. (a) 30 St. Mary Axe. (b) Mode Gakuen Spiral Tower. (c) Capital Gate.

a) Main frames of Cyclone Tower b) Details of diagrid

Fig. 2. Diagrid details for Cyclone Tower. (a) Main frames of Cyclone Tower. (b) Details of diagrid.

structural behaviors of innovative improved diagrid details are verified
by numerical examples through structural analyses, using the ABAQUS
commercial software package. The conclusions are presented in
Section 5.
2. TRIZ procedures of defining, solving, designing, and implementing
to improve the existing diagrid
A so-called DSDI [10] which stands for “Define,” “Solve,” “Design,”
and “Implement” TRIZ procedure was introduced by POSCO steel com-
pany in 2008 to develop manufacturing technologies related to steel.
Unlike the manufacturing industry, the existing diagrid structural
system as shown in Fig. 2 is a mega structure for architectural and

Table 1
ENV model of TRIZ to define the problematic.

Element (E) Name of Value of

feature (N) feature (V)

The zone of the tube in which Stress Current state Desired state
the tube contacts the cap plate (by given forces) lX (by tube) W Y (by tube)
and under which the cap plate
contacts the node rib
Fig. 3. Collapses at the end of tubes.
 D. Lee, S. Shin / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 96 (2014) 151–158 153

The operating zone at which problems occur according to the ENV

Fig. 4. Operating zone of the existing diagrid.
civil engineering. In this study, DSDI TRIZ is primarily linked to develop
the details of the mega structure.
Fig. 3 depicts the collapses of the end of tubes of a diagrid under
given compressible axial forces of 502 tonf and 329 tonf at the 37th
floor of Cyclone Tower by ABAQUS [11]. As can be seen, stress concen-
trations among node rib, cap plate, and tube result in collapses of
tubes before tubes arrives to yielding stress state 975 tonf of steel. This
occurs despite of using cap plates, as shown in Fig. 2(b), like as changing
thickness and extended length. In addition, an extended cap plate may
cause interference in building construction.
There are some models expressing functional goals and harmful ef-
fects related to a technical system [19] that use implicit representation
of the function by a variation of flows as a modification of specific attri-
butes such as in the Element, Name of feature, and Value (ENV) model
[20].
Table 1 presents ENV model in the “Define” stage of TRIZ to define
the above-mentioned problem of the existing diagrid detail. It can be
found that stresses by high performance steel tube with tensile stress
of 800 MPa have to be bigger than stresses by given forces at the zone
of the tube in which the tube contacts the cap plate in order to avoid
collapse.
model is described in Fig. 4. Ultimately, the problem is that both stress
concentrations and interferences occur at the operating zone. Therefore
it can be found that inventive ideas are evaluated by solving the prob-
lem that exists in the operating zone. Diameter and thickness of each
tube are assumed to be 600 mm and 12 mm, respectively, for the pur-
pose of economy and ease of manufacturing. Then, these are not design
variables in the operating zone. Cap plate and node rib are design vari-
ables and can be modified to improve the existing diagrid details; in
other words, to solve problems in a determined operating zone.
Table 2 presents a component interaction matrix among compo-
nents in the operating zone by using a multi-screen thinking method
[12] and a resource analysis [13].
Table 3 describes contradiction models for area of the cap plate
based on TRIZ. Technical and physical contradictions are the corner-
stones of TRIZ. The formulation of the technical contradiction aids in un-
derstanding the root of a problem better and discovering the exact
solution to the problem more quickly. In this study, it is a dilemma to
accomplish both preventing the problem, i.e., relieving stress concentra-
tions at the end of tubes, and proceeding favorably building construc-
tion without interference under the condition of using cap plate. This
situation is a technical contradiction [8,9].
In this situation, physical contradiction [8,9] has the format given
the element of the system should have characteristic “A — existing
cap plate in diagrid” in order to realize the required function — relieving
stress concentrations of tubes — to solve the problem, and this element
should have characteristic “non-A” in order to satisfy the existing limi-
tations and requirements, which here is non-interference in building
construction.
To solve technical and physical contradictions, separations in space
and based upon condition are applied to idea generation. Here, spaces
1 and 2 indicate a space for outside of a tube to prevent interference
and a space for inside of a tube to increase the contact area, respectively.
According to the separation rules of Zlotin et al. [14] and Basadur
[15] of space and upon condition, cap plate is modified to both enlarge
the contact area between a tube and a cap plate and reduce the

Table 2
Component interaction matrix.

System Main function Components Super system components

Transferring of horizontal and Tube Wind force

vertical loads through buildings Cap plate fire
Diagrid
Node rib
Axial force

Tube Cap plate Node rib Axial force

Tube + +

Cap plate + ++ +

Node rib ++ +

Axial force + + +

Table 3
Technical and physical contradiction models for area of the cap plate.

Physical contradiction Technical contradiction

Element Name of feature Value of feature Improved Deteriorated

Cap plate Area Big To increase the contact area between the cap plate and node ribs Interference
Small To decrease interference during construction
154 D. Lee, S. Shin / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 96 (2014) 151–158

The test specimens of diagrid structures are defined in Table 4. In

Fig. 5. Idea generation results using separations in space and upon condition.
interference that results from length extensions of a cap plate. There-
fore, original flat cap plates are evaluated toward concave and convex
shaped plates as shown in Fig. 5.
The “Design and Implement” stages of DSDI TRIZ procedures mea-
sure the idea generation results of Fig. 5 by using measurable tools
such as structural analyses or experiments. In Section 3, structural be-
haviors of the invention results are investigated using ABAQUS.
3. Analytical pushover test and measurement of inventive solutions
In Section 3, structural behaviors of innovative improved diagrid de-
tails are verified by numerical examples through structural analyses,
using the ABAQUS commercial software package.
Fig. 6 shows loading and support conditions, and numerical model-
ing of 1/4 diagrids of flat, concave, and convex forms. Fx1 of 502 tonf
and Fx2 of 329 tonf are loaded as given forces of Cyclone Tower under
fixed supports. Here, Fx2 is pre-stressed using pushover [18].
2012, POSCO and RIST (Korea) developed a new high-performance
rolled steel plate with 800 MPa grade tensile strength for building struc-
tures called, HSA800. This steel has upper and lower bounds for yield
and ultimate tensile strength of 650–770 MPa and 800–950 MPa, re-
spectively. It was verified through material tests [21] and Korea Stan-
dard D 5994 [22]. The current nominal value of 650 and 800 in Table 4
is the lowest value of the actual values. I considered the worst-case sce-
nario for safety.
“Flat,” “concave” and “convex” denote existing diagrid and idea
generation results of DSDI TRIZ. High performance steel HSA800
(high-performance rolled steel for architectural buildings with tensile
stress of 800 MPa) [16,17] and SS400 (nominal value of the yield stress
of 240 MPa) steel are used for diagrid material. For concave and convex
diagrids, there is no extension of cap plates.
Fig. 7 shows the load–displacement curves of flat, concave, and con-
vex diagrids. As can be seen, a higher slope of the curve indicates better
stiffness and a lower slope means better ductility. In all cases of HSA800
and SS400, concave diagrids produce the best stiffness but the worst
ductility. Flat diagrids result in the best ductility but the worst stiffness.
Convex diagrids produce the best ductility and almost the best stiffness.
From these results, it can be found that a concave form improves stiff-
ness and a convex form improves ductility. In particular, compared
with the existing flat diagrid controlling thickness and extension length
of cap plates, it is verified that the convex diagrid devised by DSDI TRIZ
is the best solution.
Furthermore, a composite type of convex and concave forms, i.e., a
ball type, is proposed to obtain the best stiffness and ductility.
Fig. 8 shows appropriate thickness of flat diagrid to arrive at similar
behaviors of the convex diagrid of HSA800 steel. As can be seen, appro-

a) Loading and support conditions b) Numerical modeling of 1/4 diagrids.

Fig. 6. Design conditions and numerical modeling of diagrids. (a) Loading and support conditions. (b) Numerical modeling of 1/4 diagrids.

Table 4
Test specimens of diagrids.

Model Diameter Thickness Steel by ultimate Nominal value of yielding Cap plate thickness Rib thickness Cap plate extension
(mm) (mm) tensile strength stress (MPa) (mm) (mm) (mm)

Flat-1 600 12 HSA800 650 12 30 +20

Concave-1 600 12 HSA800 650 12 30 –
Convex-1 600 12 HSA800 650 12 30 –
Flat-2 600 12 SS400 240 12 30 +20
Concave-2 600 12 SS400 240 12 30 –
Convex-2 600 12 SS400 240 12 30 –
 D. Lee, S. Shin / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 96 (2014) 151–158 155

Fig. 7. Load–displacement curve of flat, concave, and convex diagrids.

Fig. 8. Load–displacement curve of flat and convex diagrids.

priate thickness of cap plates of the flat diagrid is 40 mm. Increasing the
thickness may result in an increase in the quantity of steel required,
making products more expensive.
Table 5 provides a comparison of the steel quantities needed for
flat-1, concave-1, and convex-1 diagrids. As can be seen, the convex-1
diagrid introduces a 16% saving in steel quantity compared with the
flat-1 diagrid under the same structural behaviors of stiffness and
ductility.
Fig. 9 shows collapsed views of flat-1, concave-1, and convex-1
diagrids using HSA800 steel. It can be seen that the convex-1 diagrid
distributes stresses all round, unlike the stress concentrations of the
flat-1 diagrid. This means stress concentrations at the ends of tubes
are relieved.
Fig. 10 shows collapsed views of flat-2, concave-2, and convex-2
diagrids using SS400 steel. The results are similar to those of Fig. 9.
Figs. 11 and 12 present detailed collapses of Figs. 9 and 10,
respectively.
4. Conclusions and remarks
The diagrid structural system is a new architectural trend for free
formed tall buildings, in which high performance steel with tensile
stress of 800 MPa (i.e., HSA800) can be applied.
The DSDI TRIZ procedure results in new structural details of the
existing diagrid in structural design of mega structures such as tall
buildings, and TRIZ can be also applied to architectural or civil design.

Table 5
Comparisons of steel quantity.

Component Thickness (mm) Flat-1 (kg) Concave-1 (kg) Convex-1 (kg) Comparison

Tube 12 178 178 178 –

Cap plate 40 (flat form), 12 (concave and convex form) 101 107 107 –
Node rib 30 117 184 50
Total 396 469 335 16%↓
156 D. Lee, S. Shin / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 96 (2014) 151–158

a) Flat-1 diagrid b) Concave-1 diagrid

c) Convex-1 diagrid
Fig. 9. Collapsed views of flat-1, concave-1, and convex-1 diagrids. (a) Flat-1 diagrid. (b) Concave-1 diagrid. (c) Convex-1 diagrid.

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a) Flat-2 diagrid b) Concave-2 diagrid

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Fig. 10. Collapsed views of flat-2, concave-2, and convex-2 diagrids. (a) Flat-2 diagrid. (b) Concave-2 diagrid. (c) Convex-2 diagrid.

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Fig. 11. Detailed collapsed situation of flat-1, concave-1, and convex-1 diagrids.
158 D. Lee, S. Shin / Journal of Constructional Steel Research 96 (2014) 151–158

Fig. 12. Detailed collapsed situation of flat-2, concave-2, and convex-2 diagrids.