This thesis focuses on the collaboration of two innovative materials - Fibre Reinforced Polymers (FRP) and structural glass – in the design of a (hybrid) footbridge with a 30 meter span. The choice of subject is led by a rising popularity of these materials in bridge design and strengthened by positive recent developments in conceptual small-scale FRP & glass hybrid structures. This research will try to take previous research one step further and will combine the advantages of both materials to reach a structurally efficient bridge design. The research question is as follows: “Can a hybrid pedestrian bridge with a loadbearing structure of FRP and structural glass be designed while making optimal use of the material properties of both materials?”. The design by research process is divided in multiple steps. First of all a theoretical framework is created, with state-of-the-art information about the material properties of glass and FRP. This theoretical framework resulted - via design rules - in several preliminary design variants of which the structurally most efficient, most transparent and safest variant is chosen and subsequently elaborated on. The chosen variant is optimized by using a form-finding and geometric optimization process powered by the Grasshopper plugin Kangaroo and Finite Element software DIANA. The research shows - via its design rules – that a hybrid facetted shell bridge, consisting of glass facets and FRP joints is the most efficient variant. A concave shape is chosen for its “natural” parapet and relatively low share of bending stress in the total stress, while still measuring up to the bridges’ requirements. The concave shape is tessellated with triangular panels due to problems with the – in theory – more efficient hexagonal panels. By shortening the length of connections along each side of a triangular panel, the behavior of hexagonal panels is approximated. Several topologically different triangular tessellation variants have been analyzed using DIANA. The topological variant based on a combination of the equilateral and isosceles triangle proved to result in the lowest stress and deformation values under NEN-based loads and is therefore the most efficient variant. By adding more curvature to the base of the bridge, better shell behavior is achieved, resulting in even lower stress and deformation values. The connection between the panels is made using an FRP embedded sheet, which results in a higher axial stiffness and ultimately also a higher critical load of the bridge. The ideal thickness of this sheet is determined with FEM analysis. A clamped double-pin joint is chosen for its uniformity and adaptability. Finally, an uncertainty analysis is performed to investigate the influence of tolerance related production flaws on stress levels in the joint, which resulted in no issues.

For economic, scientific and survival reasons, colonisation of other planets is proposed. Mars is the most suitable place to start. To start an early Martian colony, viable In-Situ Resource Utilisation (ISRU) methods of low energy consumption are required to manufacture strong bulk construction materials. Most other studies have used infeasible materials or processes to investigate the possibility of manufacturing construction materials on Mars. This study investigated answers to this problem and assessed the feasibility thereof under strict requirements. A literature study has specified Martian regolith as the optimal raw resource. The use of water was not feasible. Simulants MGS-1 and JEZ-1 were used as materials analogous to Martian regolith. Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) has been chosen as the optimal production method considering Martian regolith and the environment. An experimental study has verified the feasibility of the proposed material combined with the proposed method. Standard compressive tests, CT, SEM, SEM-EDS, DSC-TGA, Taguchi Design, MSEL and SPS, accompanied by standard measurements, yielded the following information: uniaxial compressive strength, density (distribution), macro porosity, microstructure, elemental composition, compaction, and energy requirement. Both simulant types were subject to three modifications: particle size, particle size reduction method and drying. Four SPS parameters have been analysed: temperature, duration, applied coating and applied pressure. The minimum required compressive strength of 1.9 MPa was readily achieved. A maximum compressive strength of 137 MPa was found with an average of 48.50 MPa. Combined with the possible shape geometries of SPS, the manufactured material is expected to be structurally applicable. The measured theoretical energy requirement was 17.07 GJ/m3. The applied energy use was 2.72 TJ/m3. A reference dome requires a feasible theoretical 89.5 kW or infeasible applied 14.3 MW for one year. The latter value was elevated due to experimental factors. The actual energy requirement of a Martian mission is expected to be closer to the theoretical energy requirement due to efficiency improvements. Water vapour was produced during sintering. This is a vital benefit to a Martian colony. To conclude, ISRU bulk construction material manufacturing on Mars, for early colony development, is possible with regolith simulant and SPS.

The main topic of this thesis is the design of arch with components made up of glass and reinforced concrete. Parametric process as well as experiment is carried out in this research. In this thesis, bond strength between glass and fly ash concrete are studied.

Glass is a fascinating material which has been used for load bearing structures in the past decades. The development of structural glass has been moving towards more transparent structures. The thermal properties of glass can be used to create heat bonds. Heat bonds can be produced in two ways: welding and fusing. With welding, the regions that are to be connected are locally heated. With kiln formed fusing, the elements to be bonded will be globally heated in an oven. This results in the research question: What is the best method, among glass welding and kiln formed glass fusing, to produce heat bonded systems for applications in glass structures? In theory, safety measures consist of three basic strategies: creating secondary load transfer mechanisms, protectioning and overdimensioning. These strategies can be used on the scale of the system and the structure. The heat bonded system could theoretically be laminated, reinforced and tempered. On a structural level, safety can be ensured by a combination of the strategies. To produce glass welds, the glass is preheated in an oven. A small opening in the oven is made and a line burner is used to heat the to be welded area from both sides. One element is pressed down on the other to make the connection. The oven is closed and the specimen is annealed. Finite element models have been used to analyze thermal shock failure during the weld production process. The recommendations for production were to use an additional flame on the bottom of the specimen or to maintain the surroundings at elevated temperature. The latter option is applied in the experiments. The results were three transparent, all-glass, soda lime T-shaped objects. Little residual stress remained in the products. The fused objects were globally heated in an oven. The glass was fused in moulds, made of a gypsum plaster. The products were translucent, all-glass, soda lime, T-shaped objects. The objects deformed significantly during production. Little residual stress remained in the products. Throughout the experiments, factors have changed. An aspect with no direct influence on the product was quenching after maximum temperature. Adapting the mould and polishing the glass edges prior to fusing had an influence on the objects' shape or texture. None of the factors influenced the order of magnitude of the deformation or the seam between the elements. A structural test has been performed to compare the specimens with a glass T-shape bonded with transparent UV-curing adhesive. The connections were loaded in shear. The results of the failure loads and stress at failure are of the same order of magnitude. The largest spread was among the fused specimens, the smallest among the welded. The cause of failure is most probably a combination of elevated stress due to the stiffness and support of the test set-up and peak stress due to irregularities on the glass surface. Other causes could have contributed to failure. The welded glass product requires most time, energy, skill and money. The adhesive product requires least time and energy. The welded and fused objects had neither acceptable dimensional accuracy, nor a smooth fillet in the joint. In the current state of development, glass fusion results in less residual stress, requires less skill and is cheaper to produce. Glass welding results in a transparent glass to glass connection and its structural performance is promising. Further research is encouraged into the heat bonded and adhesive connections to create fully transparent connections for structural glass.

For in-­situ resource utilisation start-up Maana Electric, an investigation was undertaken to determine whether a cover glass for solar panels can be produced using only desert sand as the raw material. During this investigation, the composition of desert sand, melt formation, processing temperatures, and mechanical and optical properties were considered. The composition of 18 desert sands was analysed by means of X­ray fluorescence and estimations of mineralogical composition were made, after which an attempt was made to melt the unmodified sand samples in a microwave furnace built for the purpose. Melt formation was further observed by melting binary combinations of store bought minerals that were found in the desert sands. The composition data and modelling of temperature-viscosity curves were employed to explore lowering the practical melting of the sand point by modification of the composition through benificiation. `Synthetic benificiated desert sand' was produced and melted based on the results. Glass samples produced were characterized using X­ray fluorescence, visual inspection, optical spectrometry, and fracture mirror analysis. It was found that about half of the desert sand samples assessed contain over 90 wt% silica, making it less feasible for use as raw material for glass due to high melting temperatures and/or large waste streams from benificiation, while sands containing larger fractions of carbonates and/or feldspars will form a melt at less than 1650 degrees Celsius if the SiO2 content is less than 55 wt%. Transmission of 85 % of ~550 nm wavelength light was shown to be possible for desert sand glass of 3 mm thickness if Fe2O3 content is lower than 0.1 wt%, while for the same transmission in the complete effective spectrum of silicon based solar cells the iron content needs to be lowered further. Known absorbing species such as Cr2O3, NiO and CuO were detected in desert sand in trace amounts, but were not present in the synthetic mixtures, the influence of these contaminants on transmission requires further research. Mechanical analysis was inconclusive due to a limited number and low quality of the samples produced, but a review of the literature implies that a Young's modulus of >70 GPa and flexural strength of >45 MPa are attainable in a glass produced from desert sand components.

In April 2018, a graduation project in the field of architecture was concluded. The project entailed the design of a temporary community centre in the earthquake-damaged historic town centre of L’Aquila, Italy. The underlying social concept was focused on participation of the local population in the construction of the community centre. The design includes a grid-like timber shell structure, built-up out of a repetition of only two main structural and light-weight elements: the members and the joints. The load-bearing structure of this architectural design formed the basis for this graduation thesis, which is aimed at its optimisation. The optimisation is carried out focused on many objectives, e.g. its weight, its environmental impact, its structural validity. The goal of this thesis can be summarised by the following research question. Given the architectural design, how can the main load-bearing structure be optimised for seismic contexts using parametric modelling, considering the following objectives: maximal demountability and structural simplicity, minimal material use, structural weight and environmental impact? An optimisation method has been chosen combining automated and manual processes, as this gives a high sense of control to the designer. Using computational and parametric modelling techniques (Rhino, Grasshopper and Karamba), a database comprising 10 836 different structural configurations has been generated with different geometries and materials. The database contains the generated outcomes to structural and environmental analyses for each of the structural configurations. The database entries have been ranked manually based on structural, architectural and social demands, resulting in a top 28 models. Having defined a ranked set of structural configurations, manual checks and iterations can take place. The first step is checking the global and local stability using proposed joint designs as input. The next step is checking the safety of the structure during seismic events using a response spectrum analysis. As the Top-1 design passed all analyses, no iterations were deemed necessary. In conclusion, with regard to the design, further structural optimisation could take place by reconsidering the shape of the structure. However, the process of automated database generation followed by manual exclusion, ranking and iterations give a great sense of control compared to automated optimisation alternatives. This optimisation process has proven to be very effective in finding a design that balances all objectives well.

Creating smooth, double curved glass façades from thin glass offers highly curved and complex shaped architecture that is less heavy and still transparent compared to conventionally used hot- or cold bent glass. Although bigger curvatures can be achieved with hot bent glass, it requires non-reusable moulds in the fabrication process, whereas cold bent glass does not. This can lower investment costs. This is especially interesting for high strength thin glass, because high curvatures are easily reached by the elastic (cold) bending technique. To bend flat glass into a double curved shape, the glass can be twisted, resulting in two curvatures in the opposite direction (anticlastic). The technique that is currently used to twist glass is based on a metastable position which depends on the capability of sustaining compressive forces. The thinner the glass, the earlier compressive stresses cause a buckling phenomenon. The radius of the anticlastic curvature reached with the current technique depends therefore on the thickness of the glass. Replacing conventional glass by high strength thin glass results in a single bent curvature, instead of an anticlastic curvature. Considering the high amount of prestress, high strength thin glass is capable of transferring high tensile stresses and an alternative twisting technique might be more appropriate, that is based on a high tensile stress capability, instead of a low compressive stress capacity. This research explores the great potentials of high strength thin glass by applying an alternative technique that adds tension to the twisting, which in this research is referred to as ‘three-dimensional tensioning technique’. This study starts by analysing differences in material- and mechanical properties between high strength thin glass and the familiar glass (thicker and less tempered Soda-Lime-Silicate glass) commonly used as a construction material. Currently, the twisting technique that is used appears to be insufficient because of strong membrane behaviour in the high strength thin glass. Structural performance of high strength thin glass is tested for pure in-plane tensile strength. In this experimental analysis a non-standard test method is used and compared with currently used methods for materials that have ductile or brittle mechanical behaviour. Several connection methods are illustrated that enable an anticlastic curvature. From a SWOT-analysis it is concluded that the connection needs to be characterized by a discontinuous elastic modulus, or stiffness, along the edge surface, that is able to transfer high tension, yet is strainable to fill the gap-tolerance when creating a hypar (hyperbolic paraboloid) surface. In this research an optimisation is carried out of a side supported glass element based on an FE-analysis that shows the capability of high strength thin glass used as tensile membrane structure.

In the far south of the Netherlands, the erratic river Meuse flows through the landscape. It recently flooded twice in the 1990s, causing much economical damage. Emergency measures, such as a demountable flood wall, were taken to prevent future flooding. And while this solution was to the liking of the inhabitants, the update in the flood safety standard called for a more permanent structure. In the search for an alternative and permanent solution, a glass flood wall was suggested. Nowadays there are not many examples of glass used in a flood defence in Dutch practice, and certainly not as part of a primary flood defence. It can be classified as an innovation, from which little is known from a structural safety perspective. Glass is used globally to retain water in numerous applications such as aquaria, under water glazing, glass bottom boats, etc; therefore water pressure is not seen as a high risk to the glass. What happens when floating debris hits the glass structure? Impact on glass can result in immediate failure, where the water retaining function could be lost. This thesis aims to answer this question, by theory and later on by impact experiments in a dry setting.

Windows are important elements in a building. They protect the interior from the exterior environment regarding weather conditions, noise, security and so on. While they also, in contrast to walls and floors, connect the two, creating links and providing rooms with daylight, fresh air and views in and out of the building. The most governing element of the window is the insulated glazing unit (IGU). There are many developments concerning coatings to add functions to the glass ,such as solar control or self-cleaning windows but they contain critical materials such as cobalt, copper and titaninum. Added elements such as coatings, foils for laminated glass and the sealant prohibit the IGU from being recyclable, as the prevailing glass industry requires high quality and clean ingredients only. This makes the IGU a finite, single life product resulting in almost 125.000 tonnes of post-consumer glass waste each year in the Netherlands. The IGU works optimally as an insulating element as long as there is dry (argon) gas inside the glazing panes. However, the life span of current IGUs is just around 15-20 years and is dependent on the butyl seal which is just 1% of the costs and 0.1% of the weight. During its life span the seal starts failing by allowing water molecules inside the cavity. The panel as a result starts building up water vapor and the coating inside will start to corrode, the glass shows fogging and the thermal performance drops down due to outgassing of the panel. In the current design of the IGU no refurbishment is possible, meaning that the glass panes and the spacer will not be re-used, but instead end up as landfill while these materials exceed the life span of the sealant by a large margin (Veer,2016). This thesis therefore focusses on the possibility of remanufacturing the IGU. The re-designed edge seal system for the IGU makes it easy to remanufacture the IGU on-site. The design utilises a detachable butyl seal that functions as a dry gas and vapor barrier and a hollows section that assures the tightness of the seal. This idea shows the possibility to replace the weakest part of the whole glazing panel every ten years so that the glazing panes which have high stored embodied energy and the spacer bar, which is currently approaching the theoretical value in terms of energy efficiency, both can have a life span of more than 100 years. The interlocking design of the spacer bar and butyl sealant is a result of a form finding process. A fiberglass hollow section can be slid into the butyl profile to assure the load is transfered to the window system. Furthermore, a check valve type is chosen to fill the cavity again with Argon gas with every remanufacturing cycle.

The demand for lower construction costs comes at the price of duplicating architectural designs. As a result, the misperception that modular architecture is repetitive prevails. However, the developments in computational design and MMC (modern methods of construction) can suggest a standardized manufacturing approach to provide mass customization. The research explores the computation of Modular building envelope systems using the Boolean marching cube algorithm under the premise of a ‘participatory generative design framework’ of the 'GO-Design' developed by Pirouz Nourian and Shervin Azadi [1]. In this project, (1) a set of architectural tilesets is developed that incorporates mass-customization by providing the potential for generating various configurations, and (2) a prototype of an interactive digital tool is established to enable future inhabitants to customize the configuration of their modular houses based on the predefined tileset. The algorithm is developed and applied in the Rhino & Grasshopper environment. The BMC algorithm reads the voxels' labels pertaining to each cube's vertices (a collection of 8 neighboring voxels) to load and choose the corresponding tile from a predefined tileset. The project's focus is the design of such a tileset, its engineering consistency, and architectural coherence. As an input, a voxelated massing will be the input, possibly later accompanied by a colored zoning scheme. and the output will be a modular architectural assembly. This workflow is envisaged to become a procedural component of a Configure, Price, & Quote (CPQ) system for the industrialization of mass customizable housing.

This master's graduation project researches the potential of upcycling waste glass into glass-ceramic components through casting techniques and thermal treatments. To explore its potential and possibilities, the process of crystallization, the material glass-ceramic and influencing parameters are studied at first. A glass-ceramic is a glassy yet crystalline material consisting of inorganic and non-metallic compounds. A glass-ceramic can be produced through different controlled crystallization methods, whereas in this research heat treatment of casted components is applied. Upon heat treatment, crystallization occurs when the right temperatures are applied for the two-steps in crystallization; nucleation and crystal growth. Crystallization may occur spontaneously or along preferential sites, whereas this research makes use of the latter. Many parameters affect the crystallization process, whereas this research only focusses on glass composition, temperature and dwell time. The parameters are set through literature study and trial and error of melting experiments. This research focusses on the crystallization of soda-lime-silica bottle glass, the results of each melting experiment show the effect of the parameters. Each glass from another manufacturing has another glass composition. The amounts of glass formers, modifiers and fluxes are various, resulting in diverse temperature curves and thus diverse melting temperatures and crystallization temperatures. Through the melting experiments are noticeable that the applied melting temperature were of bigger influence than the crystallization temperature. A melting temperature too low resulted in an undesired fused sample, while a too high melting temperature resulted in no or little preferential sites for crystallization to occur. Through the results of the splitting experiment the mechanical characteristics could be observed, which are fracture toughness and fracture behaviour in this research. The fracture toughness seems better of samples with a higher quality crystal polymorph or with a higher amount of crystallinity or high amounts of glassy phases, whereby the material acts as one material upon loading rather than as a composite. While for samples with little and unconnected crystallization it does not seem to benefit its fracture toughness. The fracture propagation through glassy and crystalline phases is very different. A fracture propagation through a glassy phase is conchoidal, while the fracture propagation in the crystalline phase follows the crystalline structure, reaching its extremities or can be conchoidal, depending on the crystal polymorph. Observable from the fracture propagation from glassy to crystalline and from crystalline back to glassy is the discontinuity. The crystal or crystalline surface acts like an obstacle once the failure propagation reaches from the glassy phase. The failure does propagate but once it continues over to the glassy phase again, a change in energy and direction is noticeable. All by all, there do is potential in upcycling waste glass into structural cast glass-ceramic components. Crystallization does influence the fracture toughness and fracture behaviour in a cast glass-ceramic component, but the effect is highly dependent on the amount and distribution of glassy and crystalline phases.

Today, the world is continuously looking forward towards sustainable solutions for building construction, thus the interest and the need for sustainability is continuously growing. With growing issues related to the environment and sustainability, Bamboo being one of the answers is one such sustainable material that has a lot of potentials to be used as a building material. This graduation research is a little step towards uplifting the material, improvising and changing the current perception of bamboo in the building construction sector by evaluating possibilities of using an engineered form of bamboo in a structural application. Today, bamboo is developed up to a level where it is structurally modified for improved strength, durability and performance. This research focuses on using this advanced form of Bamboo to develop a method of construction to build a housing prototype and investigate into connection techniques to construct the same using these materials. The connection design is inspired by Japanese interlocking joinery, with an aim to avoid the use of external fasteners to connect the joinery. This semi-permanent prefabricated interlocking approach allows for future flexibility. The research also establishes and evaluates criteria as a design rule for efficient joinery connections. The joinery design is validated by physical prototyping, testing and software validation of the proposed joinery design configuration. The project strives to gain validation for the potential of using bamboo is a structural application.

A proposal is made on how to design and create an openable surface in a mono material 3D printed tiny house that consists out of recycled PET.

It is known that the global impact of solid waste is becoming more worrying day by day; however, the application of reused materials in the built environment is not yet fully embraced. In particular, plastic composites are now fundamental for the global world economy but the organization of their end life needs to be improved. Therefore, the research investigates the possibility of reusing plastic in the built environment through means of robotic fabrication and computational design. Thus exploring different design possibilities based on reclaimed plastic objects, testing their structural stability and robotically modifying them. In order to create a design system for a pavilion made of reclaimed materials, based on a computational workflow. Throughout the course of the research project, physical testing and software simulations have been performed to assess the properties of the robotically fabricated geometry, in order to retrieve design guidelines. Moreover, a digital workflow was developed including performance-driven design, performance evaluation and geometry generation for robotic fabrication. To conclude, the study emphasized how rather than employing new resources in the fabrication of a pavilion structure, it is possible to promote the use of reclaimed material using digital techniques and reversing the design process. Instead of designing a shape and consequently choosing a material, the design will start from the choice of a reclaimed material and the analysis of its potential, in order to originate a structure according to it. Besides the research project aims to facilitate the process through the creation of a computational workflow that can be applied to multiple reclaimed objects and shapes.

Bridges are of one of the most important infrastructures in the Netherlands. Due to Dutch landscape bridges of every size and types are needed in the rural as well as in the urban environment and often more than one piece is needed for a specific location. Due to the significant cost of bridge maintenance engineer’s attention was drawn on Fibre Reinforced Polymers (FRP). This material is being used as structural material in steel crosssections and as architectural material in double curve plates, produced via a modular production. The primary purpose of this research is to determine a series of FRP footbridges for the area of Tanthof Delft in the Netherlands that are manufactured via one modular mould. In that way, different bridge variations are produced based on different module combination. Also, the bridges are constructed all in FRP in order to create a new visual vocabulary of this material for bridge design by combining the free-form and structural potentials of this material. Initially the bridge structure starts as a U-shape bridge with non-structural railing. Through the use of parametric design the influence of the different geometrical variables of a bridge are investigated and the shape involves into a shell-like structure. Furthermore, municipality data of the demanded bridge’s dimensions are analysed in order to identify the appropriate module matrix. Then, based this the modular mould of the Light Resign Transfer Moulding manufacturing technique is designed. The project managed to combine the research scopes and full-fill the set aim, but this combination also limited the potential of each scope separately. Due to the small dimensions of the bridges and the need for repetitions the final product is double curved but not as “fluid” as other examples of roof or column examples. Also, the different width and lengths of the bridges provide a complex module matrix and at the same time a manufacturing mould of many pieces. Finally, by using the modularity exclusively for the mould design, its potentials to give solutions on connectivity limits the projects principle on monocoque structures.

Transparency is embraced more and more in contemporary architecture and therefore glass has become one of the most important materials in the building industry. In structural glass applications the elements are dimensioned based on stiffness and strength requirements. This research investigates the potential of glass sandwich structures as a way to create planar elements with a high stiffness to weight ratio and reduce material consumption in structural glazing applications. The design focuses on the replacement of the glass floors of the Acropolis Museum in Athens with an aim to a)reduce material consumption, b)eliminate the supporting substructure and c)propose an optimised design. 7 different core topologies are designed and tested by means of a 4-point bending test in a way to assess the optical quality of such structures, showcase their potential and finally assess which configuration is the most suitable to be used in the aforementioned application. The topology that fulfills the structural and aesthetical requirements is furtherly investigated and its structural behaviour is “deconstructed”. The knowledge acquired through this process is used to optimise structurally and aesthetically the panels of the new glass floors.. Finally, a design toolbox is devised which constists of three phases: a)graphical/analytical calculations (predimensioning), b)Finite Elements Analysis (detailed calculation) and c)Bending Tests (evaluation). In general, this research proves the advantage of glass sandwich structures over laminated glass in stiffnes-dominated designs but also discusses the importance of integrating the process of selective distraction into the design.

Glass is gaining more and more popularity as a structural material and has become a big share of the building industry. Unfortunately, the building industry is the largest polluter in terms of industrial waste and is responsible for 40% of Europe’s energy demand (CIB, 1999), and glass is also playing a significant role in this number. One strategy to reduce the amount of pollution from a product or industry is by making it circular (PBL, 2019). Meaning the amount of waste is minimized and the energy needed to produce new material is also decreased. In the Netherlands, buildings have to be completely circular from 2050 (Rijksoverheid, 2016). In order for glass to contribute to this goal, elements have to be able to be reused or recycled, taking demountability into account during the design of a structure. One way of creating such a demountable joint, is by making use of portal frames, which require a rigid connection between the columns and beams. Currently, this connection is designed using either mechanical connections or adhesives. Rigid mechanical connections are visually not aesthetically pleasing and cause impurities right at the points where stresses are highest. This makes the joint more sensitive to failure. Rigid adhesive connections are very prone to execution and design errors, and are uncertain regarding their long-term strength. Currently, there is no efficient way to properly remove adhesives, making them non-demountable joints. This research will therefore design a demountable and rigid joint using contact pressure, taking inspiration from traditional Japanese joinery. To develop this joint, first, theory is studied, followed by the design and lastly by experimental testing. From literature, the Kanawa and Gooseneck joints are selected, because they have the capacity to take up both shear and a bending moment. These joints are then further optimized to determine the optimal geometry for a rigid glass joint. This means a geometry that minimizes tensile stresses in the glass, decreasing the chance an existing flaw will tear and cause the material to fail. This optimization is done using analytical and numerical analyses, followed by full-scale experiments. To determine the optimal force transfer the geometries were first schematized, and the relevant parameters were determined for later variation. From hand calculations, it follows that the optimal geometry finds a balance between the stresses resulting from normal force and the stresses resulting from the eccentricity of the internal line of force. Using a parametric Grasshopper model, the geometries are further optimized by varying dimensions and curvature. Several designs are imported into DIANA FEA and Abaqus to acquire numerical values for the expected stresses of these set parameters. The models are set up as two 2D glass panes with a polymer interlayer in between them. In DIANA FEA a lot of difficulties arose with the combination of complex geometry and multiple contact surfaces. Therefore all designs were mitigated to Abaqus, because this software is more suitable for complex contact surfaces. Comparing the heavily simplified hand calculations to the FEA, there was a constant increase of peak stresses with a factor of 4. The Gooseneck design was manufactured using a CNC milling machine and afterwards, its edge was polished, resulting in optimal edge quality. Due to the nature of the geometry, the Kanawa design had to be manufactured using a waterjet. There was a large difference between the accuracy of the two production methods, resulting in the Kanawa joint having a lot more space between the glass plates. This strongly influences the placement of the interlayer materials, but also the stiffness of the joint during the experiments. Before these models could be validated using experiments, a suitable interlayer to place between the edges of the glass panes was researched. POM, PVC, Surlyn, PA6 and PU85 are deemed suitable and are examined. Eventually, only PU85 could be fitted between the glass panes, which seemed to have the least favourable mechanical properties. The angle of the geometry was too small for most materials to bend them into, even after heating the plastics. The other issue lay with the tight tolerances of the polished glass panes. These had to be additionally polished by hand and the PU85 was treated with silicone spray, in order for the whole joint to fit. The disadvantage was that this manual polishing damaged the edge quality, increasing the probability of failure at a lower strength. Experiments were then conducted to validate earlier analytical and numerical calculations, using full-scale single-pane annealed glass. The joints were tested in pure tension and a bending moment, using polarizing filters to visualize the stress trajectories. For the Gooseneck model, the stress trajectories and expected stiffness corresponded well with the models. The samples failed at an average force of 6.0 kN. The model predicted peak stresses of 300 N/mm2 and stiffness of 2.8 N/m at this point, the experiments displayed a stiffness of 3.0 N/m. This means the model turned out to be 5.7% less stiff than the experiments. The stress trajectories coincided less clearly with the model for the Kanawa tension model. The samples failed at an average force of 4.1 kN. The expected peak stresses at this point were 150 N/mm2 and the stiffness 0.73 N/m based on the model. The experiments showed a stiffness of 1.1 N/m. The model underestimates the stiffness of the experiments by 33%. Interestingly, because the tolerances in the Kanawa joint were larger, there was more movement possible in this joint. This influenced the force transfer and therefore resulted in different peak stresses than expected. The Gooseneck model turned out to be almost 3 times as stiff as the Kanawa model. This has two likely reasons. First of all, the geometry of the Kanawa joint is not designed to take up pure tension in the direction that it was tested. Therefore, the geometry itself was a lot less stiff than that of the Gooseneck joint. Secondly, the tolerances were of large influence. Because the Kanawa samples were produced using a waterjet, with quite large tolerances, there was a lot of movement possible in the joint. This meant little force was necessary to displace the joint, resulting in a lower stiffness. The Kanawa design was tested under a bending moment, because the force transfer is very different compared to pure tension for this design. The full beam had dimensions of 2400mmx 400mmx 10 mm. Locations of peak stresses were similar to the models. The samples failed at an average of 4.0 kN, which corresponds with a moment of 1.1 kNm. The force-displacement graph of the experiments was not linear, but showed varying stiffness with plateaus where the stiffness was around 0. Most likely, this was caused by a combination of the plastic deformation of the PU85 and movement and/or sliding in the machine itself. It was attempted to calibrate the model to the experiments, by increasing the stiffness of the interlayer. This did not result in sufficient stiffness, which implies the stiffness originates from another element in the setup. The rotational stiffness was 611 kNm/rad, which is 9.1% of the stiffness compared to a solid beam of the same dimensions. This means the designed joint is not fully rigid, but this exploratory study shows there is great potential for such a system. Further optimizing the geometry and finding a more suitable interlayer could result in a rigid and demountable glass joint, as part of a portal frame.

Concrete consumption is one of the major environmental issues of our time. This building material is used twice as much as all the other building materials combined. Furthermore, the United Nations predicts that human global population will reach 10 billion inhabitants by 2050. Correspondingly, it is projected that due to global migration from land to cities, almost 75% of the world’s population will be urbanized. For the building industry, this means that in thirty years we will roughly equal the entire volume of the construction made in the world’s history. In other words, the consumption of concrete is predicted to double over the next three decades. Given the importance that concrete has for the building industry, the ability to optimise the material usage can have a global impact in reducing both pressure from the natural environment and carbon footprint. To fully exploit the potential of concrete in a cost-effective and environmentally sensible way represents one of the greatest challenges posed to building technology today. The research question has been formulated based on this problem statement: How can a prefabricated structural concrete slab be designed to optimise the use of concrete, minimise material waste and allow for efficient (dis)assembly and reuse to extend its exploitation life? Currently, one of the main issues to reuse concrete elements is the implementation of steel rebars as reinforcement. This type of reinforcement corrodes and causes internal cracks in the concrete elements. This means that after time, the element cannot be reused as its structural capacity is compromised. This has led this research towards investigating novel strategies to provide concrete with tensile strength. Fibre reinforced concrete (FRC) emerges as a potential solution. However, it is well known that the performance of FRC largely depends on the orientation of its fibres. To achieve this, production methods that can achieve a controlled fibre orientation are also reviewed. Here, 3D printing concrete (3DCP) emerges as an approach worthy to be explored. It has been observed that the fibres orient parallel to the deposition of the concrete layer. If this strategy is applied, this means that a printing path can be programmed and, the fibres will orient accordingly. A general outlook of 3DCP characteristics is reviewed in this research. Consequently, such characteristics are applied to the design of the reusable 3DCP slab. Besides the material characteristics, Circular Economy (CE) presents strategies to exploit the full potential and retain the optimal value of the physical environment. Principles of the CE are reviewed in this research through literature study. Special consideration has been put in the principle of Design for Reuse (DfR) as the objective of this research is to enable multi service-lives of the new 3DCP slab. Suitable aspects have been identified and applied to the design based on the properties of concrete and fabrication techniques. Here, the engineering of dry mechanical connections is sensible as the 3DCP slab can be efficiently demounted without the need to break or cut part of the slab. The simplicity of the connections is crucial in this research as this translates into savings of energy and CO2 emissions due to a rapid building process. Furthermore, the simplicity of the connection means an easy replacement upon damage without affectation to the whole concrete slab. The engineering and mechanical performance of the connections are addressed in this research. To conclude the research, the utility of the reusable 3DCP slab is studied. The results are compared to those of a traditional concrete slab and conclusions are drawn to assess the relevance of this new approach to reduce concrete consumption. Economic utility, policies and business models are excluded from this research as they are not the main focus and due to time constraints. This master thesis answers the research question by designing a concrete slab that can optimise the usage of concrete. This is achieved both by material characteristics, production process and the engineering of demountable connections. However, further physical research and testing are needed to properly evaluate the production process and its applicability to the current design. Nevertheless, the result looks promising.

The research and the development of biodegradable Sandstone at TU Delft Architecture, Delft. This study was aimed to test the biodegradable Sandstone and develop a method to improve the quality of life of the refugee camp by using biodegradable Standstone. The subject of this study was selected by Mustafa Nazari, he discovered biodegradable Sandstone during the study. In the first part, data was collected about the problem statement and solution by doing literature study. Then doing experiments to discover the properties of this material. In the designing phase will be determined of it possible is to create a temporary housing by use biodegradable Sandstone. The results of this study make clear it is possible to create a temporary house by using specially designed bricks which are made of Biodegradable Sandstone.

Researchers of TU Delft have been designing and engineering with columns created out of multiple glass rods that are bundled together to form a single column. These aesthetically attractive and slender columns were tested to ensure safety before implementation in the real structure: the Glass Truss Bridge located at the campus of the university. However, the ultimate capacity and structural behaviour of such columns remained unknown. In this studies the structural behaviour of two designs of such columns is researched. It appeared that, among others, the differences in length between the rods within the columns caused an unequal distribution of stresses. This resulted in a large range of ultimate capacities of bundled glass columns that were designed according to the same design principles. Using a special approach in finite element modelling of the glass until failure, furthermore, resulted in more thorough knowledge regarding the failure behaviour of glass and the best way to model this behaviour.