Enhancing structural design with a parametric FEM toolbox

Apellániz, Diego; Vierlinger, Robert

doi:10.1002/stco.202200004

Cited by 7 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…However, fully integrating the FEM‐solver in Grasshopper was impossible because some processing and FEM calculations must be performed within the RFEM software (load‐cases, FE‐mesh generation, calculation). The B + G Toolbox, 45 integrated in the meantime in RFEM, is an interface between the mentioned programs allowing these missing steps to be integrated into Grasshopper. As a result, additional Grasshopper plug‐ins such as the solver Galapagos 46 can be applied, facilitating the programming of parametric optimization loops.…”

Section: Case Study: Digital Design and Production Of A Materials Opt...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Structural design and testing of material optimized ribbed RC slabs with 3D printed formwork

Huber

Burger

Mata‐Falcón

et al. 2023

Structural Concrete

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Most of the concrete volume in multistorey buildings is cast in solid slabs, which are frequently flat slabs supported on columns. By using two-way spanning ribbed slabs, concrete consumption could be significantly reduced. However, due to the high costs associated with formwork, such a complex rib configuration is rarely used nowadays. With the advent of technologies for automated formwork fabrication, the material-saving potential inherent in this structural system could again be exploited. This paper investigates the feasibility of material-efficient ribbed concrete slabs on a building scale using conventional concrete and steel reinforcing bars cast inside a three-dimensionalprinted plastic-based formwork. To that end, the code-compliant design of ribbed slabs is first discussed, followed by the introduction of a concept for an automated design-to-production workflow. The sustainability of this slab system is compared to a solution using conventional formwork in a case study consisting of a multibay office building with slabs spanning 8 m in both directions, revealing that ribbed slabs use 40% less concrete than solid slabs. Several representative structural elements of the case study (ribs, slab-column transition) were produced at full-scale and tested until failure to investigate the feasibility of production and structural performance. Three T-beams with various rib shapes (straight, kinked with diaphragms, curved) were tested in a threepoint bending configuration, showing a ductile behavior with longitudinal reinforcement yielding and indicating the relevance of torsional effects in curved ribs. Punching tests on two slab-column connections (ribbed, solid) revealed that the optimized ribbed slab could prevent brittle punching failures and achieve an ultimate load 105% higher than the solid reference slab. All specimens' load-bearing behavior could be predicted using established design formulas, showing the feasibility of producing code-compliant ribbed slabs with the applied technology.Discussion on this paper must be submitted within two months of the print publication. The discussion will then be published in print, along with the authors' closure, if any, approximately nine months after the print publication.

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Section: Case Study: Digital Design and Production Of A Materials Opt...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Structural design and testing of material optimized ribbed RC slabs with 3D printed formwork

Huber

Burger

Mata‐Falcón

et al. 2023

Structural Concrete

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“…The structural analysis of the global model is required after the building loads have been determined from previous design decisions and when the concept of the lateral resisting system of the building and other structurally relevant elements such as transfer floors have been defined. The Parametric FEM Toolbox [8] is the Grasshopper plugin suggested for this analysis. It allows an interoperability between Rhino and Grasshopper with the commercial FEM software RFEM, which includes modules to check all structural elements according to the building codes including fire resistance requirements.…”

Section: Structural Design and Fire Protectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integration of life-cycle assessment in a multimodal building design approach

Apellániz

Aziz²,

Weber³

et al. 2022

IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci.

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Decades of rapid and widespread digitization of our living and working environments have not yet brought about a comprehensive qualitative improvement of our built environment in terms of sustainability and functional and aesthetic performance. The designs of the future must be much more consistently concerned with optimizing the multimodal performance of human spaces. This paper presents a design approach to implement and combine life-cycle assessment with different simulation methods such as energy efficiency, daylight analysis, acoustics, noise insulation, structural analysis and fire protection in order to provide the designer with tools to evaluate how architectural decisions affect the building performance and its environmental impacts. This approach was applied by the architecture students of a master course at the Universität der Künste Berlin. They were given the program of a building to be constructed in the Siemensstadt in Berlin and they implemented this methodology to come up with different sustainable designs. This paper also discusses the results of this course and empathizes how the implementation of simulation tools does not constrain the possibilities of the design process, but it enriches it and leads to a more sustainable built environment.

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