STRUCTURAL DESIGN FOR ARCHITECTURE

Fig. 3.41 Nodus joint. The

Nodus joint is designed for

use with hot-rolled steel

hollow sections. It is

basically a clamping device

which is used in conjunction

with end pieces which are

welded to standard hollow

sections. It allows a wide

range of space frame geom-

etries to be constructed and

gives the designer freedom,

not only to select different

frame configurations, but

also to vary the sizes of the

constituent elements.

Steel structures

around 10 m by 10 m to 30 m by 30 m on plan).
Requirements for larger spans, or for more
complex geometries, can frequently only be
satisfied by use of a one-off, specially designed
system. Such systems are usually all-welded
structures with hot-rolled hollow section
elements. An indication of the span capabil-
ities and depths required for the systems illus-
trated in Figs 3.38, 3.40 and 3.41 is given in
Tables 3.7, 3.8 and 3.9.

85

Table 3.8 Approximate depths and span ranges

for the Mero space framework

Span (m) Module (m) Frame depth (m)

up to 15 2 to 3 up to 1.5

15 to 27.5 2.4 to 3 1.5 to 2.1

27.5 to 36 2.4 to 3.6 2.1 to 2.5

36 to 50 3.6 to 4.8 2.5 to 4.0

50 to 100 4.8 to 6.0 3.6 to 4.8

Table 3.7 Dimensions and span ranges for the
Unistrut space framework

Module Depth Span range
(m) (m) (m)

1.22 1.0 8.5 to 15.2 Column support at corners

8.5 to 31.7 Support around perimeter

1.52 1.26 7.6 to 18.2 Column support at corners

7.6 to 36.6 Support around perimeter

Table 3.9 Approximate depths and maximum

span ranges for the Nodus space framework

Module 2 to 3 m

Frame depth span Column support at corners

20

span Support around perimeter

15

Maximum span 50 m Column support at corners

60 m Support around perimeter