Investigating the Influence of the Improved Multibody Rope Approach on the Structural Behavior of Dakar Mosque Gridshell Structure

Gridshell structures are characterized by an impressive strength-to-weight ratio, allowing their application in large-span roofing structures. However, their complex construction process and maintenance limited their widespread application. In recent years, the development of parametric and computational design tools has rekindled interest in this type of structure. Among these techniques, the Multibody Rope Approach (MRA) is a form-finding method based on the dynamic equilibrium of a system of masses (nodes) connected by ropes, which allows optimizing the structural shape starting from the dual geometry of the funicular network. To optimize the construction process, an improved version of the MRA, i-MRA, has been recently developed by the authors with the goal of uniforming the size of the structural components. To investigate the impact of the i-MRA method on the structural behavior of gridshell structures, the practical case of the design of a mosque roof is here analyzed. The comparison is carried out in terms of structural performance with respect to permanent and equivalent quasi-static loads. In addition, free-vibration natural-frequency shift is obtained by performing linear modal analysis. Finally, the global behavior with respect to buckling and elastic instability is assessed solving the relevant eigenvalue problem. The results demonstrate that for the roofing of the Dakar mosque, the structural configuration obtained through i-MRA is superior in terms of both construction efficiency and structural performance. The achieved shape exhibits a more uniform distribution of stresses induced by the applied loads together with very limited structural element typologies.

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