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Novel Method for Constructing Tetrahedral Frames

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2011

John J. Gilman
John J. Gilman*
Affiliation:
Center for Advanced Materials, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720
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Extract

This paper is concerned with the design and construction of a frame that makes optimal use of modern materials together with optimal structural design. It is modular in format and can be constructed using puckered rings which combine to make a frame with tetrahedral nodes and cubic symmetry; analogous with the crystal structure of diamond. This frame can be extended indefinitely in three dimensions by adding modules to its core. Such a frame has high capacity to bear loads relative to its weight. For some types of loading it has the highest possible specific-structural strength (for a frame of struts). It is a structural analog of a foam.

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References

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