Leightweight structures

Lightweight structures, characterized not only by their low dead weight but also by their structural composition and the many innovative aspects of their design and construction, have seen unprecedented development over the past fifty years. They offer architectural solutions to the need to build large spaces with a reduced number of load-bearing points.

Their technology initially involved conventional materials such as concrete for thin walls, then innovative materials such as technical textiles for architectural membranes. Many solutions require the implementation of a state of initial stress that contributes to their rigidity under external actions, implying a sometimes complex combination of associated effects.

There's no doubt that the rise of information technology in the broadest sense of the term has accompanied the development of lightweight structures on several levels:

• development of predictive numerical models that take into account non-linear behavior in both geometric and material terms;

• taking into account couplings between mechanical and geometric parameters ;

• data generation support ;

• opening up to computer-aided manufacturing.

This article provides an overview of the different typologies associated with lightweight structures, and proposes a few elementary models to help understand the issues of form-finding, geometric non-linearity and the combination of the effects of initial stresses with those resulting from external actions.

At the end of the article, readers will find a glossary of the main technical terms encountered throughout the chapters.