Space frame
Encyclopedia
A space frame or space structure is a truss
-like, lightweight rigid structure constructed from interlocking struts in a geometric
pattern
. Space frames can be used to span large areas with few interior supports. Like the truss, a space frame is strong because of the inherent rigidity of the triangle; flexing load
s (bending moments
) are transmitted as tension
and compression loads along the length of each strut.
The simplest form of space frame is a horizontal slab of interlocking square pyramid
s built from aluminium
or tubular steel
struts. In many ways this looks like the horizontal jib of a tower crane repeated many times to make it wider. A stronger form is composed of interlocking tetrahedral pyramids
in which all the struts have unit length. More technically this is referred to as an isotropic vector matrix or in a single unit width an octet
truss. More complex variations change the lengths of the struts to curve the overall structure or may incorporate other geometrical shapes.
around 1900 and Buckminster Fuller
in the 1950s. Bell's interest was primarily in using them to make rigid frames for nautical and aeronautical engineering. Few of his designs were realised. Buckminster Fuller's focus was architectural
structures; his work had greater influence.
commercial and industrial buildings.
Notable examples of buildings based on space frames include:
Large portable stages and lighting gantries are also frequently built from space frames and octet trusses.
In February 1986, Paul C. Kranz walked into the U. S. Department of Transportation office in Fort Worth, Texas, with a model of an octet truss. He showed a staff person there how the octet truss was ideal for holding signs over roads. The idea and model was forwarded to the US Department of Transportation in Washington, D. C. Today, the octet truss is the structure of choice for holding signs above roads in the United States.
.
British manufacturers TVR
were particularly well known for their tube-frame chassis designs, produced since the 1950s. Other notable examples of tube-frame cars include the Lotus Seven
, Audi R8, Ferrari 360
, Lamborghini Gallardo
, and Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.
Space frames have also been used in bicycles, such as those designed by Alex Moulton
.
Truss
In architecture and structural engineering, a truss is a structure comprising one or more triangular units constructed with straight members whose ends are connected at joints referred to as nodes. External forces and reactions to those forces are considered to act only at the nodes and result in...
-like, lightweight rigid structure constructed from interlocking struts in a geometric
Geometry
Geometry arose as the field of knowledge dealing with spatial relationships. Geometry was one of the two fields of pre-modern mathematics, the other being the study of numbers ....
pattern
Pattern
A pattern, from the French patron, is a type of theme of recurring events or objects, sometimes referred to as elements of a set of objects.These elements repeat in a predictable manner...
. Space frames can be used to span large areas with few interior supports. Like the truss, a space frame is strong because of the inherent rigidity of the triangle; flexing load
Structural load
Structural loads or actions are forces, deformations or accelerations applied to a structure or its components.Loads cause stresses, deformations and displacements in structures. Assessment of their effects is carried out by the methods of structural analysis...
s (bending moments
Moment (physics)
In physics, the term moment can refer to many different concepts:*Moment of force is the tendency of a force to twist or rotate an object; see the article torque for details. This is an important, basic concept in engineering and physics. A moment is valued mathematically as the product of the...
) are transmitted as tension
Tension (mechanics)
In physics, tension is the magnitude of the pulling force exerted by a string, cable, chain, or similar object on another object. It is the opposite of compression. As tension is the magnitude of a force, it is measured in newtons and is always measured parallel to the string on which it applies...
and compression loads along the length of each strut.
Overview
Square pyramid
In geometry, a square pyramid is a pyramid having a square base. If the apex is perpendicularly above the center of the square, it will have C4v symmetry.- Johnson solid :...
s built from aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
or tubular steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
struts. In many ways this looks like the horizontal jib of a tower crane repeated many times to make it wider. A stronger form is composed of interlocking tetrahedral pyramids
Tetrahedron
In geometry, a tetrahedron is a polyhedron composed of four triangular faces, three of which meet at each vertex. A regular tetrahedron is one in which the four triangles are regular, or "equilateral", and is one of the Platonic solids...
in which all the struts have unit length. More technically this is referred to as an isotropic vector matrix or in a single unit width an octet
Octet
-Music:* Octet , ensemble consisting of eight instruments or voices, or composition written for such an ensemble* Octet , 1793 composition by Ludwig van Beethoven* Octet , 1825 composition by Felix Mendelssohn...
truss. More complex variations change the lengths of the struts to curve the overall structure or may incorporate other geometrical shapes.
History
Space frames were independently developed by Alexander Graham BellAlexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell was an eminent scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator who is credited with inventing the first practical telephone....
around 1900 and Buckminster Fuller
Buckminster Fuller
Richard Buckminster “Bucky” Fuller was an American systems theorist, author, designer, inventor, futurist and second president of Mensa International, the high IQ society....
in the 1950s. Bell's interest was primarily in using them to make rigid frames for nautical and aeronautical engineering. Few of his designs were realised. Buckminster Fuller's focus was architectural
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
structures; his work had greater influence.
Applications
Construction
Space frames are a common feature in modern construction; they are often found in large roof spans in modernistModernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
commercial and industrial buildings.
Notable examples of buildings based on space frames include:
- Stansted airport in London, by Foster and PartnersFoster and PartnersFoster + Partners is an architectural firm based in London. The practice is led by its founder and Chairman, Norman Foster, and has constructed many high-profile glass-and-steel buildings....
- Bank of China Tower and the Louvre PyramidLouvre PyramidThe Louvre Pyramid is a large glass and metal pyramid, surrounded by three smaller pyramids, in the main courtyard of the Louvre Palace in Paris. The large pyramid serves as the main entrance to the Louvre Museum...
, by I. M. PeiI. M. PeiIeoh Ming Pei , commonly known as I. M. Pei, is a Chinese American architect, often called a master of modern architecture. Born in Canton, China and raised in Hong Kong and Shanghai, Pei drew inspiration at an early age from the gardens at Suzhou... - Rogers CentreRogers CentreRogers Centre is a multi-purpose stadium, in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated next to the CN Tower, near the shores of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989, it is home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League...
by Rod RobbieRod RobbieRoderick George Robbie, OC is a Canadian architect. He is known for his design of the Canadian Pavilion at Expo 67 and Toronto's Rogers Centre....
and Michael Allan - McCormick PlaceMcCormick PlaceMcCormick Place is the largest convention center in the United States. It is made up of four interconnected buildings sited on and near the shore of Lake Michigan, about 4 km south of downtown Chicago, Illinois, USA. McCormick Place hosts numerous trade shows, including the Chicago Auto Show,...
East in ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles... - Eden ProjectEden ProjectThe Eden Project is a visitor attraction in Cornwall in the United Kingdom, including the world's largest greenhouse. Inside the artificial biomes are plants that are collected from all around the world....
in Cornwall, England - Globen, Sweden - Dome with diameter of 110 m, (1989)
- Biosphere 2Biosphere 2Biosphere 2 is a structure originally built to be an artificial, materially-closed ecological system in Oracle, Arizona by Space Biosphere Ventures, a joint venture whose principal officers were John P. Allen, inventor and Executive Director, and Margret Augustine, CEO...
by John P. AllenJohn P. AllenJohn Polk Allen is a systems ecologist and engineer, metallurgist, adventurer and writer. He is best known as the inventor and Director of Research of Biosphere 2, the world's largest laboratory of global ecology, and was the founder of Synergia Ranch...
in Oracle, Arizona
Large portable stages and lighting gantries are also frequently built from space frames and octet trusses.
In February 1986, Paul C. Kranz walked into the U. S. Department of Transportation office in Fort Worth, Texas, with a model of an octet truss. He showed a staff person there how the octet truss was ideal for holding signs over roads. The idea and model was forwarded to the US Department of Transportation in Washington, D. C. Today, the octet truss is the structure of choice for holding signs above roads in the United States.
Vehicles
Space frames are sometimes used in the chassis designs of automobiles and motorcycles. In a space-frame, or tube-frame, chassis, the suspension, engine, and body panels are attached to a skeletal space frame, and the body panels have little or no structural function. By contrast, in a unit-body design, the body serves as part of the structure, such as design by Ivan Taslimson. Tube-frame chassis are frequently used in certain types of racing carsAuto racing
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
.
British manufacturers TVR
TVR
thumb|right|240px|TVR No.2, the oldest surviving TVR, located at [[Lakeland Motor Museum, Newby Bridge, Cumbria]]TVR was an independent British manufacturer of sports cars. Until 2006 it was based in the English seaside town of Blackpool, Lancashire, but has since split up into several smaller...
were particularly well known for their tube-frame chassis designs, produced since the 1950s. Other notable examples of tube-frame cars include the Lotus Seven
Lotus Seven
The Lotus Seven is a small, simple, lightweight two-seater open-top sports car produced by Lotus Cars between 1957 and 1972....
, Audi R8, Ferrari 360
Ferrari 360
The Ferrari 360 is a mid-engine midsize two-seater sports car produced from late 1999 until 2005. The 360 replaced the Ferrari F355 and was itself replaced by the fairly similar Ferrari F430...
, Lamborghini Gallardo
Lamborghini Gallardo
The Lamborghini Gallardo is a sports car built by Lamborghini. The Gallardo is Lamborghini's most-produced model to date, with over 10,000 built in its first seven years of production...
, and Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.
Space frames have also been used in bicycles, such as those designed by Alex Moulton
Alex Moulton
Dr. Alexander Eric Moulton CBE is an English engineer and inventor, specialising in suspension design.Moulton is the great-grandson of the rubber pioneer Stephen Moulton, the founder of the family business George Spencer Moulton & Co...
.
Design methods
Space frames are typically designed using a rigidity matrix. The special characteristic of the stiffness matrix in an architectural space frame is the independence of the angular factors. If the joints are sufficiently rigid, the angular deflections can be neglected, simplifying the calculations.See also
- Platonic solidPlatonic solidIn geometry, a Platonic solid is a convex polyhedron that is regular, in the sense of a regular polygon. Specifically, the faces of a Platonic solid are congruent regular polygons, with the same number of faces meeting at each vertex; thus, all its edges are congruent, as are its vertices and...
s - Body-on-frameBody-on-frameBody-on-frame is an automobile construction method. Mounting a separate body to a rigid frame that supports the drivetrain was the original method of building automobiles, and its use continues to this day. The original frames were made of wood , but steel ladder frames became common in the 1930s...
- MonocoqueMonocoqueMonocoque is a construction technique that supports structural load by using an object's external skin, as opposed to using an internal frame or truss that is then covered with a non-load-bearing skin or coachwork...
- Backbone chassisBackbone chassisBackbone tube chassis is a type of an automobile construction chassis that is similar to the body-on-frame design. Instead of a two-dimensional ladder type structure, it consists of a strong tubular backbone that connects the front and rear suspension attachment areas...
- TensegrityTensegrityTensegrity, tensional integrity or floating compression, is a structural principle based on the use of isolated components in compression inside a net of continuous tension, in such a way that the compressed members do not touch each other and the prestressed tensioned members delineate the...
- Tetrahedral-octahedral honeycombTetrahedral-octahedral honeycombThe tetrahedral-octahedral honeycomb or alternated cubic honeycomb is a space-filling tessellation in Euclidean 3-space. It is composed of alternating octahedra and tetrahedra in a ratio of 1:2....