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Avard, Sam (2024). Timber-timber connections in elastic timber gridshells. Student dissertation for The Open University module T460 The MEng individual project.
Please note that this student dissertation is made available in the format that it was submitted for examination, thus the author has not been able to correct errors and/or departures from academic standards in areas such as referencing.
Copyright resides with the author.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21954/ou.ro.00099661
Abstract
This report aims to show whether timber-timber nodal connections can meet the load requirements in the construction of elastic timber gridshell structures. The report introduces the concept of elastic timber gridshells with a brief overview of the history of the structural form, along with similarities and differences between existing examples. The benefits of this form of structure are discussed including structural efficiency, achievement of long spans, and the way the form lends itself to the use of timber with respect to the adherence to environmentally sustainable principles that this entails. A main overview of the common components of an elastic gridshell are presented along with a typical construction process. The methodology of the report is to first carry out the theoretical design of a full-scale elastic gridshell structure using failure prediction equations found in the supporting literature, and determining load cases based on Eurocodes 0, 1 and 5. This design is then translated to a small-scale physical model of an elastic timber gridshell, constructed using the same materials and similar techniques as the theoretical full-scale structure. This small-scale model is then tested to determine if the scaled failure loads are met or exceeded. The small-scale model far outperforms the load at which failure by global buckling was predicted to occur. The results of the testing are analysed and discussed along with the impacts of assumptions, approximations, and errors in both the theoretical and physical modelling process. The report concludes that it was successfully shown that timber-timber connections in elastic timber gridshells are a feasible and effective solution, and points to various areas for further investigation.