C.Teleman_S.S.

III_Lecture 11

STRUCTURES WITH SPATIAL GRIDS

(RETICULAR STRUCTURES)

GENERAL ASPECTS
Structures with one, two or three layers-spatial lattice systems obtained from steel
members interconnected;
Used in plan dimensions of the building close to square,; economy of 10...12% in
comparison with lattice structures;
for buildings that have circular, polygonal or ovoid plane. In particular, big
structures that sustain radio telescopes;
Modern structures; numerous constructive systems in the last 50 years;
The spatial behavior determines a light weight and consequently, a reduction in
steel consumption and small heights of the roofs;
Wide spans of the roofs;
Great stiffness in the plane of the roof, small general deformations;

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

May have a flat shape (rigid plane rectangular structure) or in the shape of a cupola

Short time of mounting due to prefabrication in great extend;

Low costs due to fast execution but also due to the fact that transportation and
depositing of the prefabricated units are not expensive.

Plane (flat) grids;

Curved grids (with single or double curvature): cupola, cylindrical, or rotational surfaces

Towers with grids;

Other combined structural shapes.

The maximum spans for the grids with one layer do not exceed 10 m.

When the necessities exceed these limits a two layers system is used as the solution or
three layers system placed at the edges and two layers placed in the middle of the plane
surface.

The spatial planar grids combine the effect of a lattice girder with the effect of shell. The
planar grids with have limited spans of around 6065 m imposed by the stiffness of the
whole system (the maximum deflection).

The mesh of the grid may be triangular, square or hexagonal their stiffness decreasing

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

obtained from hyperbolical parables;

from the first to the last.

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

VARIOUS DESTINATIONS OF GRIDS

Structure of the
roof

Structure of
the
envelope

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

VARIOUS
DESTINATIONS OF
GRIDS

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

VARIOUS
DESTINATIONS OF
GRIDS

6
Domes

 Spatial frames are the

result of optimization of
wide spanned structures
with special destinations;
In order to improve the
behaviour
of
planar
trusses we have to insure a
spatial collaboration with
other structural systems;
the result is a spatial grid

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

WIDE SPANNED STRUCTURES

BASIC CONCEPT
The chords of the truss must
change the shape in order to cope
with increasing spans

Pix Pi y Pi
f ix f i y

ASSUMPTIONS
I.
The connections are perfect spherical articulations, only axial efforts may result at the end of the
convergent bars (no bending and no torsion);
II. The bars converge axially (perfect) in the connection;
III. Actions are forces acting only in joints.

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

The new spatial system is made of

two planar systems that take
together the loads and the
deformations

CLASSIFICATION OF THE STRUCTURES WITH GRIDS

Spatial grinds are obtained from nb members interconnected in nc joints
TRIANGULAR MODULES are efficient in transferring stresses. With little to no bending moments, they are
more stable and stronger than 90 degree frames.
3-D LATTICE STRUCTURES can cover larger areas at a lower weight. The many lightweight members in a
lattice structure distribute loads evenly and efficiently through the structure in three dimensions, making it
more efficient and lighter than a conventional two-dimensional frame.

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

DOUBLY CURVED GEOMETRIES have the ability to span long distances. Their curvature transfers stresses
more efficiently with little to no bending moments, making them stiffer than conventional flat surfaces. Doubly
curved geometries now offer infinite possibilities of free-style designs

TRIANGULAR GRIDS

Parabolic-compound or elliptical
inverted surfaces

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

Domes-double curvature in one

direction on circular plan

10

Shells made of one layer grids: a)- cupola; b)- cylindrical; c)- hyperbolical parable

o double curvature in
opposite directions

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

HYPERBOLOID PARABLES AND CYLINDRICAL SURFACES

11

CLASSIFICATION BY THE NUMBER OF LAYERS

Double layer with diagonals

Double layer with posts

(Vierendeel)

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

Single layer membrane

maximum spans <10 m

12
Three layer systems

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

Assembling the triangular systems

13

TRIANGULAR AND SQUARE PLANAR GRIDS WITH TWO LAYERS

deflection is 1/3001/400 of the span);
The grids may be: triangular, square or hexagonal, their stiffness decreasing from the
first to the last;
Triangular planar grids: two layers translated relative one to the other; 3 diagonals
emerge from every joint and link the two surfaces;
Square planar grids: simple, oblique diagonal etc. In the case of the simple and oblique
grid, 8 members are interconnected in a joint, 4 from the face and another 4 being the
diagonals placed at 450; in the case of the diagonal grid a number of 6 members meet in the
joints placed in the top face from these 2 being diagonals.

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

Limited spans of 6065 m imposed by the stiffness of the whole system (the maximum

14

Planar grids with two layers and different arrangements of the internal members

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

Spatial planar
square simple

Spatial planar
square
diagonal
structure

15
Planar square systems with
internal members eliminated

PLANAR GRIDS

Hexagonal systems of spatial planar structures: a)- simple; b) double

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

The in-deformability of the system must be maintained (stiffness)

16

Some of the constructive systems adopted are:

TRIODETIC (Canada): the members are CHS (circular hollow sections) flattened at the ends. They
are fixed in the joint with two washers and a bolt and may be easily dismounted;
SPACE-DECK (U.K.): a square base pyramid made of hot rolled sections (angles) is place at the top of
the grid upside down; the bars are filleted in the joint at the top part of the pyramid;
MERO (Germany and other European countries) a sphere in metal with up to 18 holes with filets
inside which CHS or RHS (rectangular hollow sections) are fixed with HSFG Bolts;
UNISTRUT (SUA): the connection is made of a gusset spatially shaped with holes in which up to 8
bars may be fixed with bolts. The bars are channels (C) and can be hot rolled or cold formed. Sections;
Other systems like: PYRAMITEC, TRIDIMATEC, TUBACCORD, SDC (France), UNIBAT and NODUS
(UK), OKTAPLATTE (Germany) are also used.

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

CONSTRUCTIVE SOLUTIONS FOR THE CONNECTIONS

OF THE MEMBERS OF THE GRID

17
Constructive solutions for the connections between the internal members of a grid:
a)- TRIODETIC; b)- SPACE-DECK; c)- MERO; d)- UNISTRUT; e)- TRIDIMATEC

Welded spherical connections

CHS (bottom face) welded on a disc

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

TYPES OF CONNECTIONS ADOPTED IN ROMANIA, ACCORDING TO STO 13-1997

18

DESIGN OF THE STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS AND CONNECTIONS

a. Permanent actions
b. Variable actions - in particular:
uneven sink at the foundations, variation of temperature due tot technological causes;
settlements at the supports;
important snow deposits in the case of skylights, gables, attic placed on perimeter or higher
buildings placed in the close neighborhoods;
wind;
effect of temperature variations;
all kind of loads or forces due to mounting stage that modify the static scheme designed for the
service life.
c. Combinations of actions -exploitation state and the mounting stage.

GEOMETRIC INVARIANCE AND STATIC EQUILIBRIUM

Basic assumptions:
The connections are perfect spherical articulations;
The joints maintain their position relative to each other as long as we consider that the length of
the bars is constant.
The condition of geometric invariance - in two alternatives:
A - the internal constraints in the connections and the external restraints at the supports act as a
single rigid system;
B - geometric invariance and static equilibrium of the grid insured only by the constraints in the
structural system
Computation of the grids may be done with the following methods:
1. Slope-deflection method we develop the matrix analysis by the direct stiffness method;
2. A finite element method may be applied with computer aids;
3. Assimilation of the structure with an equivalent shell.

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

ACTIONS

19

A. The condition of geometrical invariance is expressed with:

nb nr 3nn 0

where:
nb, nn - the total number of bars and internal joints, respectively;
nr - number of bars that connect the grid to the supports.

nb nbs nbi nbd

nbs, nbi and nbd are the number of bars in the top layer, in the bottom layer and in the diagonals.

EXEMPLE

nb 8mn
nn 2mn m n 1
nr 2m n 4

The redundancy is determined with the following relationship:

i mn 1 nm 1 1

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

B. A minimum number of bars (nb=6) is necessary in order to insure the connection between the
rigid plane (considered as a free body in space) and the ground. A common type of grid is the two
layer grid and it contains a total number of bars:

20

21

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

22

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

23

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

24

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

25

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

26

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

GEOMETRIC ELEMENTS OF THE GRID

Simple grid:
Diagonal grid:

tg

2h
l
h
; ld

l
2 cos sin

tg

h 2
; ld
l

l
h

2 cos sin

Optimum steel consumption

the cross section of the internal members differentiated according to
distinct areas (maximum three) on the surface of the mesh
Recommended surfaces for different sections of the steel elements

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

Spacing between two running joints: 1.5 3.0 m;

Height (h): 1/151/20 of the minimum span;
= 450600;
Square spatial planar grids:

Area
Member

Central

Intermediary

Marginal

Inside the top face

As

2/3As

1/3As

Inside the bottom face

Ai

2/3Ai

1/3Ai

In diagonals

0.4As or 0.4Ai

27

 Verified for limit situations:

a- sections of failure;
b- crushing under compression efforts;
c- shear of the walls of the elements, gussets or spheres;
d- local buckling of the walls in compression.
The dimensions of spherical connections: diagram,
depending on the values of the critical efforts Pl based on
the maximum effort in the members converging in a specific
joint multiplied with a safety factor of 2.5;
Diameter of the sphere: de aprox. 1.82.0 dCHS.

Ext .diam.CHS
Thick .wall
sphere
;
Ext .diam.sphere
Ext .diam.

The specific steel consumption:

Ck A

k= 1.1 - span < 24m;

k= 1.51.68 - span > 24m.
Minimum thickness of the wall is 4 mm;
Bolted connections: bolts in 6.6 category and slip resistance bolts

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

CONNECTIONS

28

COMPUTATION OF INTERNAL FORCES IN THE MEMBERS OF THE GRID

DIRECT STIFFNESS METHOD

we write the joint equilibrium equations in terms of unknown joint displacements and stiffness
coefficients, respectively. The stiffness coefficients are in fact the forces due to unit displacements).

F
F

0 k11 x k12 y 0;

0 k 21 x k 22 y P

k11
k 21
k 22

Ai Ei
cos 2 x
Li
Ai Ei
cos x sin x
Li

A E
i i sin 2 x
Li

k12

Ai Ei
sin x cos x
Li

k
k

k11k12
k 21k 22

0
P

x
y

F1 x F11 y F12
F2 x F21 y F22
AE
AE
cos x ; F12
sin x
L
L
AE
F21 F22 F
sin x
L
F11

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

The connections are perfect spherical articulations, only axial efforts may result at the end of the
convergent bars (no bending and no torsion);
The bars converge axially (perfect) in the connection;
Actions are forces acting only in joints.
General methods:
- slope-deflection method we develop the matrix analysis by the direct stiffness method;
- a finite element method may be applied with computer aids;
- assimilation of the structure with an equivalent shell.

29

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

DIRECT STIFFNESS METHOD

System of two bars (truss system) subjected to a force

acting in the joint 2: a)- actual forces acting on the
original structure; b)- case I-displacements under
horizontal component of force; c)- case IIdisplacements under vertical component of force.

30
Stiffness coefficients for an axially loaded bar: a)forces created by a unit horizontal displacement;
b)- forces created by a unit vertical displacement

SLOPE DEFLECTION METHOD-GENERAL EQUATIONS OF THE SYSTEM

An important degree of redundancy implies a great number of equations of equilibrium so in
fact the slope-deflection method will also be using the computer aids, basically starting with

K F
Then:

K 1 F

Knowing the translations of the joints i and j in the global system of coordinates ix, iy,
iz, and jx, jy, jz, the elongation of the member ij will be determined (translations and
rotations of the joints i, j in the loaded structure, in the figure)

specific elongation:

forces in the member ij:

ij

lij
lij

Nij ij E Aij ij

lij
lij

Aij

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

lij jx ix cos x jy iy cos y jz iz cos z

Forces in the internal members vary with the 1/h and in particular the efforts in the diagonals
vary with 1/sin. The deflection varies with 1/h2

31
N

p a3 P a 2

Values of the coefficient

0.1935
0.1702
0.1500
0.1322
0.1162
0.1018
0.0888
0.0771
0.0666
0.0573
0.0491

0.0419
0.0357
0.0303
0.0257
0.0218
0.0185
0.0156
0.0132
0.0112
0.00948
0.00803

a/b
1.05
1.1
1.15
1.2
1.25
1.3
1.35
1.4
1.45
1.5
1.55

a/b
1.6
1.65
1.7
1.75
1.8
1.85
1.9
1.95
2.0
-

0.00680
0.00576
0.00487
0.00412
0.00349
0.00295
0.00249
0.00210
0.00176
-

n
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13

3.333
3.889
4.667
5.250
6.000
6.600
7.333
7.944
8.667

9.286
10.000
10.625
11.333
11.963
12.667
13.300
14.000
14.636

n
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22

Slenderness ratios rectified for CHS

OLT 35

lf

OL 44 and OLT 45

rectified

lf
i

rectified

OL 52

lf

rectified

2080

-12

2075

-11

2070

-10

80100

-7

7590

-7

7080

-6

>100

>90

>80

n
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
-

15.333
15.972
16.667
17.308
18.000
18.643
19.333
19.978
-

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

a/b
0.5
0.55
0.6
0.65
0.7
0.75
0.8
0.85
0.9
0.95
1.0

Values of the coefficient

32

 The first type of analysis consists in modeling a discrete structure and study
the stresses and strains in the internal members by using mathematical
discrete variables.
For reticular structures much more intricate and non symmetric the explicit
solutions are not acceptable and numerical methods along with approximate
analysis techniques are adopted. In 1927 F. Bleich and E Melan developed the
discrete structural computation methods but only after 1960 these methods
were applied for reticulated structures.
The second type of analysis is adopted for structures with a very big number
of element; the basic concept replaces the reticular space with a continuous
equivalent space, the methods of equivalence being either with
interdependent solutions between the two spaces, or by conversion of the
finite difference equations into approximate differentials.
Wright developed the method of interdependent equations for unistrat
systems based on the shell theory.

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

ANALYSIS OF RETICULATED STRUCTURES AS SHELLS

33

x
Ex '

x '

y
Ey '

P2
P3

2 3
L

3N x N y ;

1
3

N y N xy 3 ;
3

L
3

N y N xy 3

3 AE
3 x y ;
4 t 'L
3 AE
3 y x ;
y
4 t 'L
3 AE
xy
xy
4 t 'L

y '

x
Ex '

; xy

E 't '3
D
12 1 ' 2

t 'L 3

Static equilibrium: a)- in the triangular spatial grid; b)in the equivalent continuous space

Ey '

2 AE

3 AE
4 t 'L

x ' y ' '

P1

xy
G'

Ny
N xy
Nx
; y
; xy
tx '
ty '
t'

Ex ' E y ' E'

G'

; y

t x ' t y ' t'

t'

2d
3

t' 2 3 i

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

34

35

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

36

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

37

C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11

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C.Teleman_S.S.III_Lecture 11