Form-finding and construction of ice composite shell structures

Conference paper (2017)

Authors

Yue Wu Harbin Institute of Technology
Xiuming Liu Harbin Institute of Technology
Q. Li Structural Design & Mechanics - Architecture and the Built Environment
Boxuan Chen Harbin Institute of Technology
Peng Luo Harbin Institute of Technology
Arno Pronk Eindhoven University of Technology
Elke Mergny Université de Liège
Research Group
Structural Design & Mechanics (Architecture and the Built Environment) (TU Delft)
Copyright: © 2017 Yue Wu, Xiuming Liu, Q. Li, Boxuan Chen, Peng Luo, Arno Pronk, Elke Mergny
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Published Date

2017-9

Language

English

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Faculty

Architecture and the Built Environment

Department

Architectural Engineering +Technology

Research Group

Structural Design & Mechanics

Abstract

By using inflatable moulds and then spraying cellulose-water mixture, one ice dome and two ice towers were built in Harbin in December 2016. During the whole process, form-finding of the inflatable moulds as well as the construction of these ice composite shell structures are very important for the final results.
The mould for the ice dome structure was a result of the manipulation of a synclastic membrane with a rope net. The mould for the ice tower structure consisted of some anticlastic surfaces. Form-finding of the inflatable moulds was conducted by the parametric tool “EasyForm” which is a self-programed plug-in in Grasshopper based on Vector Form Intrinsic Finite Element method.
In a low-temperature work environment (-10 ℃ and below), the ice shell structures were constructed on the inflatable moulds. The cellulose-water mixture was sprayed in thin layers continuously and uniformly in order to make the surface of a shell of cellulose-reinforced ice. The construction process is introduced detailedly in this paper.

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