Space Frames

Space frame
The roof of this industrial building is supported by a space frame structure.
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 loads (bending moments) are
transmitted as tension and compression loads along the length of each strut.
Contents
[hide]
 1 Overview
 2 History
 3 Applications
o 3.1 Construction
o 3.2 Vehicles
 4 Design methods
 5 See also
 6 External links
[edit]Overview
Simplified space frame roof with the half-octahedron highlighted in blue

The simplest form of space frame is a horizontal slab of interlocking square pyramids 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 purer 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.
[edit]History
Space frames were independently developed by Alexander Graham Bell 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.
[edit]Applications
If a force is applied to the blue node, and the red bar is not present, the behaviour of the structure depends completely on
the bending rigidity of the blue node. If the red bar is present, and the bending rigidity of the blue node is negligible
compared to the contributing rigidity of the red bar, the system can be calculated using a rigidity matrix, neglecting angular
factors.
[edit]Construction
Space frames are a common feature in modern construction; they are often found in large roof spans
in modernist commercial and industrial buildings.
Notable examples of buildings based on space frames include:
 Stansted airport in London, by Foster and Partners

 Bank of China Tower and the Louvre Pyramid, by I. M. Pei
 Rogers Centre by Rod Robbie and Michael Allan
 McCormick Place East in Chicago
 Eden Project in Cornwall, England

 Globen, Sweden - Dome with diameter of 110 m, (1989)
 Biosphere 2 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.
[edit]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 monocoque design, the body serves as
part of the structure. Tube-frame chassis are frequently used in certain types of racing cars, such as those built
for Formula One racing.
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 Audi A8,Lotus Seven, Ferrari
360, Lamborghini Gallardo, and Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.
Space frames have also been used in bicycles, such as those designed by Alex Moulton.
[edit]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.

Space Frames

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Space frame

The roof of this industrial building is supported by a space frame structure.

Simplified space frame roof with the half-octahedron highlighted in blue

Notable examples of buildings based on space frames include:

 Stansted airport in London, by Foster and Partners

 Eden Project in Cornwall, England

 Biosphere 2 in Oracle, Arizona

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