Reduction method of analysis for dense space structures.

This work presents a practical approximate technique for the analysis of dense space structures, with particular reference to single layer space structures. The technique is exemplified in terms of barrel vaults and flat grids. Following a general introduction in Chapter 1, Chapter 2 provides a general survey of the methods employed in the analysis of space structures, highlighting improvements to the methods of analysis which have been made to reduce the cost of analysis and storage requirements. The concept of formex algebra is described in Chapter 3, together with its application to data generation for structural analysis. A technique for frontwidth minimisation for frontal solution technique is also presented, with a number of illustrative examples. In Chapter 4, the concept of structural factoring is proposed as a basis for approximate analysis of very dense space structures. The Chapter gives the procedure by which the concept of structural factoring is used to estimate the structural behaviour of a dense space structure from the result of analysis of a similar structure with fewer number of nodes and members. Chapter 5 gives the details of all the barrel vaults analysed and the parameters varied to assess the accuracy of the proposed method. In Chapter 6, the results of the analysis are discussed. The results obtained by the method are compared with those obtained by the 'exact' analysis of barrel vaults and flat grids. The conclusions are given in Chapter 7, together with the suggested extensions