Performance Control for Efficient Design of Regular Grillages Under Uniform Loading

Performance control (PC) is a new design philosophy that aims at rational and efficient selection of structural members rather than probing their usefulness through iterative proceses. The basic notion behind PC is that structural response is mainly a function of design and detailing, rather than numerical analysis. PC is a design approach in which the properties of the structural elements are selected in accordance with predetermined performance related objectives, such as limiting displacements at first yield and/or at incipient collapse, rather than compared against arbitrary criteria. PC procedures result in highly predictable structural behavior and economically efficient designs for the class of regular, space frames considered in this paper. Neither irregular boundary conditions nor non-uniform loading have been addressed in this paper. The proposed methodology is suitable for both manual as well as spreadsheet computations. The applications of the proposed solutions have been illustrated through a number of generic examples.