Abstract
Vacuumatics rely on a relatively "new" and therefore yet unproven structural principle of prestressing incoherent (structural) elements by means of atmospheric pressure, by creating a (partial) vacuum inside an enclosing skin (figure 1). This technique leads to rigid – but reconfigurable – load bearing structures (figure 2), quite analogue to vacuum packed coffee. In an attempt to explore the structural potential of vacuumatically prestressed structures the force distribution throughout a simplistic 2-dimensional representation of such a structure is approached by means of an analytical model. A comparable numerical approach of the technique illustrates a remarkable resemblance in prestress derivation, differentiating a so called "direct" and an "indirect" prestressing component, indicating the significance of the elasticity of the applied skin material. This paper sets out to describe the ongoing study on the structural – as well as geometrical – behaviour of vacuumatics, aiming for a fundamental understanding in and control over the underlying design principles.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Computation of Shell and Spatial Structures |
Editors | F. John, J. Abel, R. Cooke |
Place of Publication | Ithaca, NY (US) |
Publisher | Cornell University |
Pages | 1-4 |
Publication status | Published - 2008 |
Event | conference; 6th International Conference on Computation of Shell and Spatial Structures; 2008-05-28; 2008-05-31 - Duration: 28 May 2008 → 31 May 2008 |
Conference
Conference | conference; 6th International Conference on Computation of Shell and Spatial Structures; 2008-05-28; 2008-05-31 |
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Period | 28/05/08 → 31/05/08 |
Other | 6th International Conference on Computation of Shell and Spatial Structures |