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Francesco Laccone
ISTI, CNR, via G. Moruzzi 1, Pisa 56124, Italy

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Journal article
Published: 21 August 2021 in Structures
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This paper introduces an integrated computational design framework for the design and realization of arbitrarily-curved bending-active architectural structures. The developed framework consists of a series of methods that enable the production of a complex 3D structures composed of a set of flat 2D panels whose mechanical properties are locally tuned by varying the shape of embedded spiraling patterns. The resulting panels perform as variable stiffness elements, and they are optimized to match a desired target shape once assembled together. The presented framework includes all the steps for the physical delivery of architectural objects, including conception, static assessment, and digital fabrication. The developed framework has been applied to an architectural scale prototype, which demonstrates the potential of integrating architectural design, computational simulation, structural engineering, and digital fabrication, opening up several possible novel applications in the building sector.

ACS Style

Francesco Laccone; Luigi Malomo; Nico Pietroni; Paolo Cignoni; Tim Schork. Integrated computational framework for the design and fabrication of bending-active structures made from flat sheet material. Structures 2021, 34, 979 -994.

AMA Style

Francesco Laccone, Luigi Malomo, Nico Pietroni, Paolo Cignoni, Tim Schork. Integrated computational framework for the design and fabrication of bending-active structures made from flat sheet material. Structures. 2021; 34 ():979-994.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Francesco Laccone; Luigi Malomo; Nico Pietroni; Paolo Cignoni; Tim Schork. 2021. "Integrated computational framework for the design and fabrication of bending-active structures made from flat sheet material." Structures 34, no. : 979-994.

Research article
Published: 04 February 2021 in The Structural Design of Tall and Special Buildings
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Skyscrapers are among the most distinctive building types of the modern age. Since many resources are attributed to these buildings, their design should consider a proper performance‐based construction economy and environmental sustainable development. This research introduces a new concept for a bundled tall building founded on the use of a multi‐core‐outrigger system, which is additionally enriched with diagrid structures. The concept is inspired by the bamboo plant and follows the biomimetic design principles for the structural organization and performance‐based criteria for optimizing the lateral stiffness and for shaping the cross section. Particularly, the incident wind speed is maximized to exploit Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs), which are located along the whole building height at the center of the bundled towers. The building morphogenesis is accomplished by a multistep methodology that is fully developed in a parametric environment and includes structural and computational fluid dynamic analyses. With the aim of validating the proposed concept, a case study of a 320‐m‐tall three‐core building has been designed for the city of Pisa, Italy. The use of VAWTs results in an annual emissions reduction of about 10 kgCO2/m2.

ACS Style

Francesco Laccone; Alberto Casali; Marco Sodano; Maurizio Froli. Morphogenesis of a bundled tall building: Biomimetic, structural, and wind‐energy design of a multi‐core‐outrigger system combined with diagrid. The Structural Design of Tall and Special Buildings 2021, 30, e1839 .

AMA Style

Francesco Laccone, Alberto Casali, Marco Sodano, Maurizio Froli. Morphogenesis of a bundled tall building: Biomimetic, structural, and wind‐energy design of a multi‐core‐outrigger system combined with diagrid. The Structural Design of Tall and Special Buildings. 2021; 30 (6):e1839.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Francesco Laccone; Alberto Casali; Marco Sodano; Maurizio Froli. 2021. "Morphogenesis of a bundled tall building: Biomimetic, structural, and wind‐energy design of a multi‐core‐outrigger system combined with diagrid." The Structural Design of Tall and Special Buildings 30, no. 6: e1839.

Journal article
Published: 08 September 2020 in Glass Structures & Engineering
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The paper introduces a novel concept for structural glass shells that is based on the mechanical coupling of double curved heat-bent glass panels and a wire frame mesh, which constitutes a grid of unbonded edge-reinforcement. Additionally, this grid has the purpose of providing redundancy. The panels have load-bearing function, they are clamped at the vertices and dry-assembled. The main novelty lies in the use of polygonal curved panels with a nodal force transfer mechanism. This concept has been validated on an illustrative design case of a 6 m-diameter suspended glass sphere, in which regular pentagonal and hexagonal spherical panels are employed. The good strength and stiffness achieved for this structure is demonstrated by means of local and global FE models. Another fundamental feature of the concept is that the reinforcement grid provides residual strength in the extreme scenarios in which all panels are completely failed. A quantitative measure of redundancy is obtained by comparing this scenario with the ULS.

ACS Style

Maurizio Froli; Francesco Laccone. Conceptual design and FEM structural response of a suspended glass sphere made of reinforced curved polygonal panels. Glass Structures & Engineering 2020, 1 -22.

AMA Style

Maurizio Froli, Francesco Laccone. Conceptual design and FEM structural response of a suspended glass sphere made of reinforced curved polygonal panels. Glass Structures & Engineering. 2020; ():1-22.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Maurizio Froli; Francesco Laccone. 2020. "Conceptual design and FEM structural response of a suspended glass sphere made of reinforced curved polygonal panels." Glass Structures & Engineering , no. : 1-22.

Research article
Published: 12 August 2020 in SN Applied Sciences
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Bending-active structures are able to efficiently produce complex curved shapes from flat panels. The desired deformation of the panels derives from the proper selection of their elastic properties. Optimized panels, called FlexMaps, are designed such that, once they are bent and assembled, the resulting static equilibrium configuration matches a desired input 3D shape. The FlexMaps elastic properties are controlled by locally varying spiraling geometric mesostructures, which are optimized in size and shape to match specific bending requests, namely the global curvature of the target shape. The design pipeline starts from a quad mesh representing the input 3D shape, which defines the edge size and the total amount of spirals: every quad will embed one spiral. Then, an optimization algorithm tunes the geometry of the spirals by using a simplified pre-computed rod model. This rod model is derived from a non-linear regression algorithm which approximates the non-linear behavior of solid FEM spiral models subject to hundreds of load combinations. This innovative pipeline has been applied to the project of a lightweight plywood pavilion named FlexMaps Pavilion, which is a single-layer piecewise twisted arch that fits a bounding box of 3.90x3.96x3.25 meters. This case study serves to test the applicability of this methodology at the architectural scale. The structure is validated via FE analyses and the fabrication of the full scale prototype.

ACS Style

Francesco Laccone; Luigi Malomo; Jesús Pérez; Nico Pietroni; Federico Ponchio; Bernd Bickel; Paolo Cignoni. A bending-active twisted-arch plywood structure: computational design and fabrication of the FlexMaps Pavilion. SN Applied Sciences 2020, 2, 1 -9.

AMA Style

Francesco Laccone, Luigi Malomo, Jesús Pérez, Nico Pietroni, Federico Ponchio, Bernd Bickel, Paolo Cignoni. A bending-active twisted-arch plywood structure: computational design and fabrication of the FlexMaps Pavilion. SN Applied Sciences. 2020; 2 (9):1-9.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Francesco Laccone; Luigi Malomo; Jesús Pérez; Nico Pietroni; Federico Ponchio; Bernd Bickel; Paolo Cignoni. 2020. "A bending-active twisted-arch plywood structure: computational design and fabrication of the FlexMaps Pavilion." SN Applied Sciences 2, no. 9: 1-9.

Journal article
Published: 01 March 2020 in Journal of Architectural Engineering
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Glass exhibits brittle failure behavior. Therefore, redundancy is a fundamental design requirement when using glass as a main structural material. On this basis, a novel structural concept has been developed for hybrid glass-steel posttensioned triangulated structures, where the two materials collaborate. In forming such lattice structure, local fracture must be avoided. This paper presents a parametric study that highlights the influences of mechanical and geometrical parameters on the in-plane and out-of-plane static behaviour of laminated triangular glass panels. The resulting data set constitutes a useful source for the designer to select the most appropriate component. The main sensitivity parameters are panel length, laminate thickness, and interlayer stiffness.

ACS Style

Francesco Laccone; Christian Louter; Maurizio Froli. Glass-Steel Triangulated Structures: Parametric Nonlinear Finite-Element Analysis of In-Plane and Out-of-Plane Structural Response of Triangular Laminated Glass Panels. Journal of Architectural Engineering 2020, 26, 04019025 .

AMA Style

Francesco Laccone, Christian Louter, Maurizio Froli. Glass-Steel Triangulated Structures: Parametric Nonlinear Finite-Element Analysis of In-Plane and Out-of-Plane Structural Response of Triangular Laminated Glass Panels. Journal of Architectural Engineering. 2020; 26 (1):04019025.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Francesco Laccone; Christian Louter; Maurizio Froli. 2020. "Glass-Steel Triangulated Structures: Parametric Nonlinear Finite-Element Analysis of In-Plane and Out-of-Plane Structural Response of Triangular Laminated Glass Panels." Journal of Architectural Engineering 26, no. 1: 04019025.

Journal article
Published: 01 January 2020 in Journal of Bridge Engineering
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Transparency and structural lightness are inspiring ideas in the design of footbridges. Glass is the most performing transparent material to be used for structural purposes because of its high compressive strength, chemical stability, and absence of fatigue and viscosity phenomena at room temperature. However, its fragility constitutes a challenging limit in structural applications. This research provides and discusses a specific concept named TVTδ (Travi Vitree Tensegrity) for lightweight long-span beam-like footbridges made of structural glass. Hence, two design approaches of fail-safe design (FSD) and damage avoidance design (DAD) are applied to guarantee adequate safety levels and postcracking serviceability, respectively, with low damages on the main components. FSD provides the adoption of structural collaboration between glass and steel. Following DAD, glass is segmented into triangular panels, and reciprocal diffuse prestress is performed by steel tendons. This strategy assures low rehabilitation costs because only collapsed elements should be replaced once failed. At ultimate limit state (ULS), the TVTδ footbridge attains a global ductile behavior in which the yielding of steel tendons occurs before any fragile failure. Such result is achieved through a hierarchic calibration of the chain of failures. In glass panels, which are mostly precompressed, the buckling failure, representing the main risk, is delayed by the mutual stabilization of the panels’ compressed edges with steel clamping. However, because an accidental event may cause a localized or diffuse brittle failure of glass components, the system is designed to maintain a residual load bearing capacity in this scenario. At the serviceability limit state (SLS), the TVTδ footbridge is highly stiffened by the presence of glass panes, partially encased in metallic frames. Crack initiation is delayed by precompression.

ACS Style

Maurizio Froli; Francesco Laccone; Agnese Natali. TVTδ Concept for Long-Span Glass–Steel Footbridges. Journal of Bridge Engineering 2020, 25, 04019130 .

AMA Style

Maurizio Froli, Francesco Laccone, Agnese Natali. TVTδ Concept for Long-Span Glass–Steel Footbridges. Journal of Bridge Engineering. 2020; 25 (1):04019130.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Maurizio Froli; Francesco Laccone; Agnese Natali. 2020. "TVTδ Concept for Long-Span Glass–Steel Footbridges." Journal of Bridge Engineering 25, no. 1: 04019130.

Major revision from eurographics conference
Published: 09 July 2019 in Computer Graphics Forum
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We propose an optimization algorithm for the design of post‐tensioned architectural shell structures, composed of triangular glass panels, in which glass has a load‐bearing function. Due to its brittle nature, glass can fail when it is subject to tensile forces. Hence, we enrich the structure with a cable net, which is specifically designed to post‐tension the shell, relieving the underlying glass structure from tension. We automatically derive an optimized cable layout, together with the appropriate pre‐load of each cable. The method is driven by a physically based static analysis of the shell subject to its service load. We assess our approach by applying non‐linear finite element analysis to several real‐scale application scenarios. Such a method of cable tensioning produces glass shells that are optimized from the material usage viewpoint since they exploit the high compression strength of glass. As a result, they are lightweight and robust. Both aesthetic and static qualities are improved with respect to grid shell competitors.

ACS Style

Francesco Laccone; Luigi Malomo; Maurizio Froli; Paolo Cignoni; Nico Pietroni. Automatic Design of Cable‐Tensioned Glass Shells. Computer Graphics Forum 2019, 39, 260 -273.

AMA Style

Francesco Laccone, Luigi Malomo, Maurizio Froli, Paolo Cignoni, Nico Pietroni. Automatic Design of Cable‐Tensioned Glass Shells. Computer Graphics Forum. 2019; 39 (1):260-273.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Francesco Laccone; Luigi Malomo; Maurizio Froli; Paolo Cignoni; Nico Pietroni. 2019. "Automatic Design of Cable‐Tensioned Glass Shells." Computer Graphics Forum 39, no. 1: 260-273.

Journal article
Published: 17 May 2019 in Engineering Structures
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A novel isolation device is introduced to seismically protect slender structures or historic assets within the philosophy of Damage Avoidance Design (DAD). This device is conceived to allow smooth, controlled and damped rocking thanks to spherical contact surfaces, elastic springs which ensure re-centering, frictional layers and viscous elastic dampers able to dissipate energy during motion. The conceptual framework of the device is analyzed, and corresponding equations of motions obtained for the equivalent two degrees-of-freedom system. The proposed Performance Based Approach allows identifying geometric and mechanical features of the system. Extensive dynamic analyses with spectra-compatible ground motions are performed and the primary contribution of friction, developed by the relative slip of the two spherical surfaces, is discussed. Finally, the dynamic response under selected earthquakes is evaluated by comparing the isolated and the corresponding not isolated response, to highlight the beneficial effects produced by the proposed isolation technique.

ACS Style

Maurizio Froli; Linda Giresini; Francesco Laccone. Dynamics of a new seismic isolation device based on tribological smooth rocking (TROCKSISD). Engineering Structures 2019, 193, 154 -169.

AMA Style

Maurizio Froli, Linda Giresini, Francesco Laccone. Dynamics of a new seismic isolation device based on tribological smooth rocking (TROCKSISD). Engineering Structures. 2019; 193 ():154-169.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Maurizio Froli; Linda Giresini; Francesco Laccone. 2019. "Dynamics of a new seismic isolation device based on tribological smooth rocking (TROCKSISD)." Engineering Structures 193, no. : 154-169.

Conference paper
Published: 01 January 2019 in Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Computational Methods in Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering (COMPDYN 2015)
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ACS Style

Maurizio Froli; Linda Giresini; Francesco Laccone. A NEW SEISMIC ISOLATION DEVICE BASED ON TRIBOLOGICAL SMOOTH ROCKING (TROCKSISD). Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Computational Methods in Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering (COMPDYN 2015) 2019, 1 .

AMA Style

Maurizio Froli, Linda Giresini, Francesco Laccone. A NEW SEISMIC ISOLATION DEVICE BASED ON TRIBOLOGICAL SMOOTH ROCKING (TROCKSISD). Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Computational Methods in Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering (COMPDYN 2015). 2019; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Maurizio Froli; Linda Giresini; Francesco Laccone. 2019. "A NEW SEISMIC ISOLATION DEVICE BASED ON TRIBOLOGICAL SMOOTH ROCKING (TROCKSISD)." Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Computational Methods in Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering (COMPDYN 2015) , no. : 1.

Journal article
Published: 01 March 2018 in Journal of Architectural Engineering
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Lightweight, transparent, long-spanned, and high-rise constructions characterize the vision of many architects. Glass is at present the best-performing material where high transparency and durability are the main requisites, but its brittleness limits its ability to provide structural engineered solutions. Large-spanned glass beams are most often built with multiple splice lamination, but this technique presents some problems, such as increased dead load and lack of redundancy, ductility, structural hierarchy, and economy. An alternative strategy has been developed in the form of multiple segmented bolted beams, but the holes this requires inevitably weaken the glass. Using the results of a 10-year-long theoretical and experimental study carried out at the University of Pisa and following the principles of fail-safe design, the main purpose of this work is to present a new static concept for hybrid, segmented, esogen–endogen-compressed, and buckling-restrained glass structures. This concept represents the latest evolution of both the Travi Vitree Tensegrity (TVT) and the Solidi Vitrei Tensegrity (SVT) constructional systems. Finite element models (FEM) calibrated on the experimental findings demonstrate the feasibility of the new concept and its good performance at the ultimate and serviceability-limit states.

ACS Style

Maurizio Froli; Francesco Laccone. Static Concept for Long-Span and High-Rise Glass Structures. Journal of Architectural Engineering 2018, 24, 04017030 .

AMA Style

Maurizio Froli, Francesco Laccone. Static Concept for Long-Span and High-Rise Glass Structures. Journal of Architectural Engineering. 2018; 24 (1):04017030.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Maurizio Froli; Francesco Laccone. 2018. "Static Concept for Long-Span and High-Rise Glass Structures." Journal of Architectural Engineering 24, no. 1: 04017030.

Journal article
Published: 01 January 2018 in International Journal of Structural Glass and Advanced Materials Research
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Contemporary cities demand smart communication infrastructures to facilitate the interaction of residents and visitors with the urban environment. Such systems are required to be network-connected, interactive, environmental-sensitive and energetically self-sustaining. Moreover, in outdoor applications they should mark an urban focal point and should be able to satisfy additional public requirements like illumination, transmission of information etc. In the framework of a research program on post-tensioned glass-steel structures, the HYbrid GLAss-Steel Stele (HYGLASS) has been conceived to work, beyond its structural function, as interactive signage, digital totem or wayfinding and, gradually scaling its size, as smart landmark tower. The tetrahelical bearing structure is made of laminated glass panels, which collaborate with a filigree steel truss and embed in their interlayers miniaturized Information and Communications Technology, photovoltaic and lighting devices.

ACS Style

Maurizio Froli; Francesco Laccone. HYGLASS: Design Proposal for an Integrated Multifunctional Hybrid Glass-Steel Structure. International Journal of Structural Glass and Advanced Materials Research 2018, 2, 15 -21.

AMA Style

Maurizio Froli, Francesco Laccone. HYGLASS: Design Proposal for an Integrated Multifunctional Hybrid Glass-Steel Structure. International Journal of Structural Glass and Advanced Materials Research. 2018; 2 (1):15-21.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Maurizio Froli; Francesco Laccone. 2018. "HYGLASS: Design Proposal for an Integrated Multifunctional Hybrid Glass-Steel Structure." International Journal of Structural Glass and Advanced Materials Research 2, no. 1: 15-21.

Original research
Published: 24 July 2017 in International Journal of Advanced Structural Engineering
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Grid shells supporting transparent or opaque panels are largely used to cover long-spanned spaces because of their lightness, the easy setup, and economy. This paper presents the results of experimental static and dynamic investigations carried out on a large-scale free-form grid shell mock-up, whose geometry descended from an innovative Voronoi polygonal pattern. Accompanying finite-element method (FEM) simulations followed. To these purposes, a four-step procedure was adopted: (1) a perfect FEM model was analyzed; (2) using the modal shapes scaled by measuring the mock-up, a deformed unloaded geometry was built, which took into account the defects caused by the assembly phase; (3) experimental static tests were executed by affixing weights to the mock-up, and a simplified representative FEM model was calibrated, choosing the nodes stiffness and the material properties as parameters; and (4) modal identification was performed through operational modal analysis and impulsive tests, and then, a simplified FEM dynamical model was calibrated. Due to the high deformability of the mock-up, only a symmetric load case configuration was adopted.

ACS Style

Maurizio Froli; Francesco Laccone. Experimental static and dynamic tests on a large-scale free-form Voronoi grid shell mock-up in comparison with finite-element method results. International Journal of Advanced Structural Engineering 2017, 9, 293 -308.

AMA Style

Maurizio Froli, Francesco Laccone. Experimental static and dynamic tests on a large-scale free-form Voronoi grid shell mock-up in comparison with finite-element method results. International Journal of Advanced Structural Engineering. 2017; 9 (3):293-308.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Maurizio Froli; Francesco Laccone. 2017. "Experimental static and dynamic tests on a large-scale free-form Voronoi grid shell mock-up in comparison with finite-element method results." International Journal of Advanced Structural Engineering 9, no. 3: 293-308.

Journal article
Published: 14 June 2017 in Buildings
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In contemporary buildings, the architectural demand for a complete dematerialisation of load bearing structures can be satisfied only in limited cases with the exclusive structural use of glass. Otherwise, for challenging applications such as long spanned or high-rise structures, the use of hybrid glass-steel systems is mandatory. Glass, fragile but highly compressive resistant, is associated with steel, ductile and tensile resistant. The present research shows the feasibility study for a fully glazed pavilion made of six TVT (Travi Vitree Tensegrity) portal frames longitudinally braced by pre-stressed hybrid glass panels. The frames are about 20 m in span and 8 m in height. Appropriate multiscalar FEM numerical analyses, calibrated on the collapse tests performed on previous TVT large-scale prototypes, stated that the structural performance would be able to withstand heavy static and dynamic loads and stated the observance of the Fail-Safe Design principles.

ACS Style

Maurizio Froli; Francesco Laccone; Dario Maesano. The TVT Glass Pavilion: Theoretical Study on a Highly Transparent Building Made with Long-Spanned TVT Portals Braced with Hybrid Glass-Steel Panels. Buildings 2017, 7, 50 .

AMA Style

Maurizio Froli, Francesco Laccone, Dario Maesano. The TVT Glass Pavilion: Theoretical Study on a Highly Transparent Building Made with Long-Spanned TVT Portals Braced with Hybrid Glass-Steel Panels. Buildings. 2017; 7 (4):50.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Maurizio Froli; Francesco Laccone; Dario Maesano. 2017. "The TVT Glass Pavilion: Theoretical Study on a Highly Transparent Building Made with Long-Spanned TVT Portals Braced with Hybrid Glass-Steel Panels." Buildings 7, no. 4: 50.

Journal article
Published: 01 June 2017 in International Journal of Computational Methods and Experimental Measurements
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ACS Style

E. Corio; Francesco Laccone; N. Pietroni; P. Cignoni; M. Froli; Niels De Temmerman; Carlos A. Brebbia. Conception and parametric design workflow for a timber large-spanned reversible grid shell to shelter the archaeological site of the roman shipwrecks in pisa. International Journal of Computational Methods and Experimental Measurements 2017, 5, 551 -561.

AMA Style

E. Corio, Francesco Laccone, N. Pietroni, P. Cignoni, M. Froli, Niels De Temmerman, Carlos A. Brebbia. Conception and parametric design workflow for a timber large-spanned reversible grid shell to shelter the archaeological site of the roman shipwrecks in pisa. International Journal of Computational Methods and Experimental Measurements. 2017; 5 (4):551-561.

Chicago/Turabian Style

E. Corio; Francesco Laccone; N. Pietroni; P. Cignoni; M. Froli; Niels De Temmerman; Carlos A. Brebbia. 2017. "Conception and parametric design workflow for a timber large-spanned reversible grid shell to shelter the archaeological site of the roman shipwrecks in pisa." International Journal of Computational Methods and Experimental Measurements 5, no. 4: 551-561.