Static Concept for Long-Span and High-Rise Glass Structures

Abstract

Lightweight, transparent, long-spanned, and high-rise constructions characterize the vision of many architects. Glass is at present the best-performing material where high transparency and durability are the main requisites, but its brittleness limits its ability to provide structural engineered solutions. Large-spanned glass beams are most often built with multiple splice lamination, but this technique presents some problems, such as increased dead load and lack of redundancy, ductility, structural hierarchy, and economy. An alternative strategy has been developed in the form of multiple segmented bolted beams, but the holes this requires inevitably weaken the glass. Using the results of a 10-year-long theoretical and experimental study carried out at the University of Pisa and following the principles of fail-safe design, the main purpose of this work is to present a new static concept for hybrid, segmented, esogen–endogen-compressed, and buckling-restrained glass structures. This concept represents the latest evolution of both the Travi Vitree Tensegrity (TVT) and the Solidi Vitrei Tensegrity (SVT) constructional systems. Finite element models (FEM) calibrated on the experimental findings demonstrate the feasibility of the new concept and its good performance at the ultimate and serviceability-limit states.