Showing papers in "Curved and Layered Structures in 2021"

Folded surface elements coupled with planar scissor linkages: A novel hybrid type of deployable structures

Abstract: Origami folding structures can find significantapplications in the general area of building design, as theycan be lightweight and deployable. An inherent property offolded surfaces, which is related to the degrees of freedomof each origami crease pattern, is form flexibility. Therefore,when building-scale applications are considered, in manyinstances, the folded surfaces, in order to become stiff andload-bearing, need to be constrained. A study of differenttypes of deployable structures has led to the observationthat in planar scissor linkages, hinges and pivots followthe same deployment path in space, as sets of vertices incertain origami structures. Due to the similarities in theirkinematic behavior, selected origami patterns and scissorlinkages can function as effective kinematic pairs, lead-ing to structures able to transform in a controlled mannerthrough a wide range of possible spatial configurations. Afew examples of combining these two types of structuresalready exist [1–3]. In this paper a systematic approach forcoupling origami crease patterns characterized by biaxialand rotational symmetry, with translational, polar and an-gulated scissor linkages, towards the development of novelforms of deployable structures, has been attempted. Forthe design and evaluation of the kinematic performance ofthe developed new structures, existing geometric modelingand calculation methods, parametric and simulation pro-cesses, as well as testing with physical models have beenused. It is anticipated that research in this direction willlead to promising novel hybrid types of deployable structures.

The use of shells in the architecture of the concert halls

Abstract: Abstract This paper deals with the use of the shells in the architecture of concert halls through research on the historical development of the concert building’s space. These elements are widely applied in civil engineering and architecture due to the good operational qualities, very rich spectrum of forms, the simplicity of production and its technical efficiency. The article considers two types of shells: conoid and truncated cone to choose the most optimal form for covering the concert hall.

From the herringbone dome by Sangallo to the Serlio floor of Emy (and beyond)

Abstract: The research starts from an analogy found between two apparently very different structural solutions: the double spiral pattern of the herringbone brick courses in the domes built by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger (1484-1546) during the Renaissance, and the particular pattern of a wooden floor ‘a la Serlio’, described by Amand Rose Emy in his Treatise at the beginning of 19th century, made by diagonal beams reciprocally sustained. The diagonal pattern of the floor has a geometrical relationship with the cross-herringbone pattern, so that the latter can be obtained by some geometrical transformations of the former. This pattern was also used in thin shells built by Nervi, from the destroyed airplane hangars in Tuscany to the Palazzetto dello sport in Rome, and even by Piacentini in 1936 and earlier in some neoclassical domes. Thus the construction tool, useful for building domes without expensive scaffolding, could have a structural role at the completed construction stage. Within the research different structures were investigated, in order to observe the relevance of this peculiar structural scheme particularly in the construction of modern domes.