The design, construction and testing of a wooden grid shell

Grid shells are reticulated thin shell structures with continuous members arranged in a gridded manner. A 20 foot by 40 foot by 14 foot high wooden grid shell was erected at the University of Tennessee patterned after work done by Dr. Frei Otto at the University of Stuttgart. This thesis documents a series of structural tests performed on the grid shell culminating with a test to failure. The shell was subjected to two loading patterns: one over the full shell, and the other over half of the shell. Each loading pattern had two edge bracing conditions: one with free edges, and the other with braced edges. The shell was instrumented with deflection gages and with electric strain gages. Data from the tests are presented in the form of isometric transect maps and contour maps. It was determined that the edges as designed were of insufficient stiffness to develop the strength of the central part of the shell.