GlassEnclosurewithPyramidRoofDiagram

18.0m 6.0m Thevoid withinthesupportingwalls androofistoremainclearofany structure. 9.0m StructureZone Glazedpyramid. 18.0m clearspan 6.0m wideby4.0mhigh removableglazingforaccess 18.0m clearspan

Areacoveredby glazedroof inequalglazed segments.

PLANOFBUILDING

Ground Level

SECTIONACROSS BUILDING Figure:Q9

Question9:GlassEnclosurewithPyramidRoof
Clientsrequirements
1. Anexhibitionhallistohaveafeatureglassroofandcladdingsurroundingadisplayarea.Thiscomprisesa glazedpyramidsupportedonfourglazedwallsformingasquare.A6.0mby6.0mareainthemiddleof onewallisrequiredtobedemountableforaccess.SeeFigureQ9 Theglazingcomprisescavityglassunits30.5mmthick,weighing0.30kN/m2.Allglasselementshavea maximumsizeof1.5mby1.5m.Theglassunitsandpanesmaybesupportedbypartialorcomplete framingorbepointfixed.Mountingmustbearrangedthatanyglassunitcanbeindependentlyremoved formaintenance. Theclientrequiresastructuralframeandglasssupportsystemfortheglasswhichhasaminimumof interruptiontothelightandenhancesthevisualaspectoftheenclosure.Thesupportsystemmustbe entirelyontheinsidefaceoftheglass,andisrestrictedtothestructurezoneindicatedinthediagram, suchthatthevoidwithinthebuildingremainsclearofanystructure. Thedesignshallincorporateadescriptionofanappropriatefoundationscheme,butdetaileddesignof thefoundationsisnotrequired. Imposedloadonroof:0.6kN/m2, Amaintenancepointloadof0.5kNappliednormaltotheglassanywhereonthesupportsystem.

2.

3.

4.

Imposedloading
5. 6.

Siteconditions
7. 8. Thesiteislocated2kmintoatown,over100kmfromthecoast.Basicwindvelocityis46m/sbasedona 3secondgust;theequivalentmeanhourlyspeedis23m/s. Groundconditions: Groundlevel0.9m Madeground 0.9m1.5m Sandandgravel,Nvariesbetween3and5. Below1.5m Sandstone,allowablebearingpressure1,000kN/m2 Groundwaterwasencounteredat2.5mbelowgroundlevel.

Omitfromconsideration
9. Detaileddesignoftheglasspanes. Detaileddesignofthefoundations.

SECTION1
a.

(50marks)

b.

Prepareadesignappraisalwithappropriatesketchesindicatingtwodistinctandviablesolutionstothe proposedstructure.Indicateclearlythefunctionalframing,loadtransferandstabilityaspectsofeach scheme.Identifythesolutionyourecommend,givingreasonsforyourchoice. (40marks) Afteryourdesigniscomplete,theClientwritesthatalatermoredetailedsoilinvestigationrevealsthat therearetheremainsofaburiedrivervalleyacrossthecornerofthebuildingarea.Writealettertoyour clientadvisinghimoftheimplicationsofthisandhowtheeffectscanbemitigated. (10marks)

SECTION2

(50marks)

ForthechosensolutioninSection1(a): c. Preparesufficientdesigncalculationstoestablishtheformandsizeofalltheprincipalstructuralelements andconnections. (20marks) d. Preparegeneralarrangementplans,sectionsandelevationstoshowthedimensions,layoutand dispositionofthestructuralelementsandcriticaldetailsforestimatingpurposes,includingdetailsofhow theglassunitsaretobesupported. (20marks) e. Prepareadetailedmethodstatementforthesafeconstructionofthebuildingandanoutline constructionprogramme. (10marks)

Question9:GlassEnclosurewithPyramidRoof
Examinersappreciation
Thisquestionwillbebestansweredbythosewhohaveexperienceinenvelopedesign,especiallyinvolving glass,thoughtheobviousstructuralaspectsmayattractothercandidates.Whilefoundationsareomitted, greaterattentiontothedetailsandstructuralisexpectedofthecandidate.Solutionsthatdonotmeetthe clientsrequirementsthatthestructureenhancesthevisualaspectoftheenclosurewillbepenalised. Whiledesignoftheglasspanesisomitted,thecandidateisexpectedtodesigntheglasssupportsystemandthe mainstructuredowntogroundlevel,includingallnecessarystructureforloadsupportandstability. Ithasbeenleftopenhowtheglassissupported.Thisquestionlendsitselftoeitheredgesupportedorpoint fixedglazing.Itmaybethatsomesortofproprietaryglazingframingsystemisincorporatedintothedesignand thiswillbeacceptableprovidingthatthestructuralrequirementsforthesystemareshownasmet.Inthis, deflectionsareoftenthegoverningcriteria. Possiblesolutionsforthestructureinclude: EdgesupportedglassonglasscurtainwallframingspanningfromthegutterlinetoRHS/CHS/UB/CUBmain membersformingthepyramidsupportedinturnonamainstructuretogroundlevel. UnframedpointfixedglasssupportedonslenderopenwebgirderssupportedinturnonRHS/CHS/UB/CUB framingformingthepyramidsupportedinturnonamainstructuretogroundlevel. Unframedpointfixedglasssupportedontriangularspaceframesformingthepyramidandbuildingwalls. Thereisconsiderableopportunityforcandidatestousetheirimaginationindesigningthestructure.Itis acceptedthatitmaybesomecommonalityintheframingforthetwosolutions,butsimilardesignsindifferent materialswillnotbeacceptable. Candidatesareexpectedtoshowthattheyunderstandtheparticularproblemsoftolerancesandmovement thatcanaffectabuildingofthistype.Alsothattheycanprovidedetailsthattaketheseaspectsintoaccount. Carewillbeneededinassessingtheloadsinorderthatthemembersaresizedwithintherestrictionsgiven.The stabilityoftheroofandthesupportingstructuremustbeconsidered.Thosewithexperienceof3dimensional structures(cuttimberroofs,forexample)willbeabletoreducethesizeofthemainmembers,thoughshould bewareofthehorizontalcomponentsofsupportforces. Thenotethatthereisnostructurewithinthepyramidvoidistopreventacandidateusingsimplerstructureto bracetheroof.Thestructurezoneisshownnotdimensioned,butcandidatesareexpectedtobereasonablein theirinterpretation,thattheirstructuremeetsthisreasonablyandthatnomemberscrossthevoid. Whilethoseexperiencedsolelyinenvelopestructureswillnormallyusesomeoneelsesstructureastheir foundation,someknowledgeofbuildingfoundationsisexpectedofaCharteredEngineer.Whilenodesignis askedfor,thecandidateisexpectedtohavesufficientknowledgetocomplywithClientsbrief4andanswer part1b. ForthecalculationsIexpectconsiderationofthememberdesignincludingnotonlytheappliedandselfweight forcesbutproperconsiderationofelementstabilityandespeciallydeflection. Thedrawingsshouldshowthegeneralarrangementsasnecessary.However,thereshouldalsobedetails showinghowtheglassissupportedandhowthepyramidsarelinkedtothesupportingframe. Iwouldexpecttheprogrammetotakeatleast6to9months,butthemethodstatementmustindicatehowthe panes(weighingupto140kg)aresafelyhandled.