2022 Galleries
The Spark Gallery pages are one of our most popular design destinations, with thousands of visitors each year. Check out some of the latest Spark entries, in the galleries below.
Galleries // 2022 Spark:Concept Pro // Responsive Tendon Patterns - PT Optimization
Responsive Tendon Patterns - PT Optimization
Winner - Platinum
Competition: Spark:Concept Pro
Designer: Mark Sarkisian - Partner
Design Type: Structural Engineering/
Company / Organization / School: Skidmore Owings & Merrill
Website: http://www.som.com
Team Members: Mark Sarkisian, Eric Long, David Shook & Ricardo Henoch
Post-tensioned (PT) flat-plate gravity framing systems are highly efficient and reduce embodied carbon when compared to conventional reinforced concrete framing systems. PT flat-plate gravity framing systems are useful in reducing slab thickness, improving construction efficiency, and reducing seismic mass in many building applications. A novel approach to determining PT tendon arrangements has been applied to several buildings informed by topology optimization results. Topology optimization is a method that determines optimal load paths in a finite element continuum. By orienting PT tendons along optimal load paths -- suggested by topology optimization, it has been shown that 25% or more of PT quantities can be reduced while maintaining the same mild steel reinforcement.
