City Research Online

Abstract

Single-layer spatial structures are used to cover large unobstructed areas with efficient material utilisation. As lightweight structures covering large areas with few intermittent columns, they have a higher risk of instability and progressive collapse. The member arrangement in single-layer lattice domes influences stability and robustness, similar to other structural parameters such as the span-to-rise ratio, connection rigidity, and support conditions. The ‘form’ plays a significant role in load resistance, and any change in the form can significantly affect collapse resistance. This research evaluates the progressive collapse resistance of different dome configurations to assess the effect of member arrangement for the first time. The structural configurations of spatial structures are similar to the arrangement of atoms, molecules, or ions in crystal lattices. Therefore, the crystal lattice analogy is introduced in the progressive collapse resistance of lattice domes through this paper. Initially, different topological parameters are introduced for a three-dimensional structure. Then, Critical Topological Parameters (CTPs) are identified to distinguish between different lattice domes based on a crystal lattice analogy. Next, the progressive collapse resistance of lattice domes with varying CTP values is evaluated using the Alternate Path Method (APM). In the final phase, the relationship between configuration types and collapse resistance is investigated based on topological parameters. The results show that a higher edge valency of vertices increases the progressive collapse resistance of single-layer lattice domes. Higher edge valency of vertices and low edge valency of faces result in increasing the alternate load paths in lattice domes, resulting in higher progressive collapse resistance. Therefore, the findings of this research help to identify the optimum topological parameters to achieve high load resistance in single-layer lattice domes without increasing the overall cost of the structure.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2025. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Publisher Keywords:	Lattice domes, Topology, Valency, Progressive collapse, Alternate path method, Node buckling, Parameterisation
Subjects:	T Technology > TA Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
Departments:	School of Science & Technology School of Science & Technology > Engineering
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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