Elastically Connected And Offset Members At Seville April Fair Gateways

Abstract

On the occasion of the celebration of the April Fair, Seville’s city council orders a gateway to the fairground to be built every year. These large structures, 50 meters long, 40 meters high and a variable depth of around 4 to 5 meters, are space structures composed of tubular metal elements connected by clamps, and covered by ornamental wood boards. The design of the referred spatial structure is presented as modular, able to distribute efforts in an isotropic network, so that efforts are transmitted in a uniform way. This paper investigates the problems involved in the analysis of this three dimensional structure having offset members. It intends to see if there are major differences between considering or not the modelling of the eccentricities, as well as further testing the influence of the consideration of the rigidity of the clamp, modelling it as rigid, articulated or elastic. The extent to which the modification influences the position of the eccentricities is also discussed, as this aspect is difficult to control on site.