Folded Surface Structures—A Method of Analysis

Abstract

As new and improved structural materials are introduced into the construction industry, it is often necessary to develop new design techniques to incorporate properties of the specific material into the analysis of the structural form.

This paper gives an analytical technique for the design of folded surface structures manufactured from isotropic fibre-matrix composites. The method is compared with an experimental procedure and it is shown that a continuum folded surface structure, which is manufactured from flat sheets bounded by folds, tends to give stress and deformation values comparable with those of the experimental procedure, whereas a continuum folded surface structure in the form of a dome gives higher peak stress values compared with an experimental approach.

Keywords:

• structural design
• structural forms
• skins/structural member
• plates (structural members)
• folded plates
• roofs
• walls
• shelters