Master Thesis, TU Delft, 2018
Owing to the rapid development of construction materials in building industry, tendency towards smart and light design solutions using modern architectural principles is growing noticeably. Ultra-thin glass is a relatively new material which could be replaced to the thicker glasses in traditional windows to create a new concept for the building. Its promising prospects due to its low weight and its ability to be bent could develop a novel adaptive glass panel concept as a breathing skin in building. Adaption can be implemented using smart materials capable of inherently sensing and responding to environmental changes with a type of actuation action. In this research study, the advancements of smart material technologies have been elaborated, together with the feasibility of these materials in adaptive architecture aspect. At the end, a novel adaptive glass panel concept has been offered by means of shape-memory alloy (SMA) cables in order to create a breathing skin for façade. The panel has been placed as an inner and outer skin in the selected case study. Its validation has been assessed through Finite-element numerical studies and experimental tests. The structural efficiency of the panel is evaluated in Abaqus software by analyzing several glass laminate configurations under bending for inside and outside situation and taking into account the effects of ordinary wind pressures for the outside condition. Two different Mock-ups have been built during the process in order to prove the feasibility of the concept. The Mockup models have been exhibited in “Challenging Glass Conference 6” at TU Delft as a successful concept for future design developments.
This project has been published several times in different articles such as Detail magazine. For further information please visit: https://repository.tudelft.nl/islandora/object/uuid:79c04819-e826-44fa-ab1b-6db8b617da11?collection=education