Application of Sandwich Panels in Offshore Structures: Static Strength, Buckling Strength and Weight & Cost Analysis

In steel structures, a lot of attention is paid to lightweight structure, i.e. reduction of dead load without compromising structural safety, integrity and performance as well as cost-effectiveness. Thanks to modern steel aluminium sandwich panel manufacturing technology a new possibility became available for lightweight structural design.The...

Integrating Installations into a Zero-Energy Renovation

In order to counter climate change many approaches have been taken to make<br/>the building sector more sustainable. But for porch houses there aren't many<br/>solutions on the market. This research project uses one of the approaches that<br/>is does focus on porch houses, 2ndskin. In march 2018 a demonstrator project<br/>has been build in...

A Feasibility Study on Weight Saving in Bascule Bridge Design by Implementing an FRP-deck: A case study on the Amalia bridge

This master thesis contains a study on the implementation of Fibre Reinforced Polymers (FRP) onto a steel bascule bridge, with the aim of weight reduction. As a case study, the Amalia bridge near Waddinxveen (crossing the Gouwe channel) is used. Two alternative design propositions are presented. The thesis has been subdivided into several parts,...

On the Assessment of the Potential of Topology Optimization: in the Maritime Construction Sector

Topology Optimization is an optimization problem based on the distribution of material within a design domain under specific load states. The goal of this technology is minimizing a certain function, such as compliance, mass or frequency. <br/>This technology can improve the performance of components in different fields within the shipbuilding...

Design and Experimental Testing of All Glass Sandwich Panels: An Experimental and Numerical Study for the Glass Floors of the Acropolis Museum

This paper describes the engineering steps taken in order to investigate the potential of glass sandwich elements, made of 2 glass skins separated by a glass core in the form of spacers, as a way to create planar elements with a high stiffness to weight ratio, reducing material consumption in structural glazing applications. The aim is to...

Investigation into the weight saving potential of multi-spar torsion-bending boxes

This thesis continues the work performed by Ferreira and Almeida on the topic of weight and cost reduction of composite multi-spar torsion-bending boxes. The goal is to find the influence of changes to the structural configuration on the resulting weight of said torsion-bending boxes. Using analytical methods, combined into the BoxSolver MATLAB...

Innovative joints for gridshells

Additive manufacturing is a production technique that builds up successive layers of material to create a 3D object from a digital model. With additive manufacturing design freedom is offered, which enables new opportunities for structural engineers and designers. This new opportunity is applied to design and produce structural joints for...

A CAD-system for the design of stiffened panels in wing box structures

In this paper the CAD system DESTIP is described. DESTIP is developed at the NLR for designing compression panels in wing box structures. Application of the system yields optimal panels in the sense that they meet all the requirements imposed by the designer and have minimum weight per unit width. Weight reductions ranging from 0 to 10% have...

Simulation and optimization techniques in computer aided design

The use of numerical simulation and optimization techniques is rapidly expanding in all fields of engineering design. The place and the potential of these techniques in the design process, as well as their use by the designer, are discussed. The principles underlying these techniques are outlined and an overall view is given of the various...