Modular Clearspan Building Sections with Gravity-Deployed Legs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Clearspan buildings with high ceilings and large open spaces are difficult to construct modularly due to size and structural constraints, requiring traditional on-site construction methods and resulting in lost benefits of modular techniques, as well as causing disruptions and costs from relocating items on the construction site during building construction.
Innovation Solution
A modular building section with pivotally attached legs that can move from a stowed to an expanded position under gravity, allowing the section to be lifted and installed as a complete roof and wall unit, including finished structural and operational features, enabling unrestrained movement and immediate completion of the building without necessitating item removal from the site.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If clearspan buildings are constructed using traditional on-site construction methods, then structural integrity and large open spaces can be achieved, but construction time and costs increase, and items on the construction site must be removed during construction
Solution Approach 1:
The building is divided into modular sections that can be manufactured separately and assembled on-site. Each module contains complete roof and wall assemblies that can be installed as discrete units, enabling faster construction without requiring removal of items from the construction site.
Solution Approach 2:
Complete building modules including roof and wall assemblies are manufactured in advance at a factory setting. This preliminary fabrication allows construction to proceed more quickly by simply assembling pre-built modules rather than constructing components on-site.
2Productivity
If large building sections including roof and walls are transported to construction sites, then modular construction benefits can be achieved, but transportation and structural constraints are encountered
Solution Approach 1:
The building is segmented into smaller modular sections that can be transported within size constraints while still providing complete functional units. Multiple modules are assembled on-site to achieve the total building size, bypassing transportation limitations.
Solution Approach 2:
The legs are configured to fold vertically during transportation, changing the spatial dimension occupied by the structure. This allows the building sections to be transported in a compact configuration and then deployed to their full operational dimensions at the construction site.
3Ease of manufacture
If items are removed from the construction site during building construction, then building construction can proceed, but time and costs are increased, and business operations are interrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The building is constructed as modular sections that can be assembled around existing items on the construction site. This segmentation allows construction to proceed without requiring complete site clearance, items can be worked around during assembly.
4Productivity
If building sections are manufactured with complete structural and operational features, then construction time is reduced, but manufacturing complexity and shipping constraints are encountered
Solution Approach 1:
Complex building systems are divided into modular sections, each containing complete but simplified versions of structural and operational features. This segmentation makes manufacturing more manageable while still providing functional completeness for rapid assembly.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Facilitates the modular construction of clearspan buildings with high ceilings and large open spaces, reducing construction time and costs by allowing complete building sections with integrated features to be transported and assembled efficiently, minimizing site disruptions and scheduling delays.
Implementation Method 1
The first and second legs are moveable independently of each other from their respective stowed positions to their respective expanded positions under the influence of gravity during lifting of the roof portion
Data Source
AI summary
A modular building section defining the roof and opposing walls of a modular clearspan building. The building section includes a roof portion extending in a longitudinal direction between opposite first and second ends, and a pair of first and second legs, each leg pivotally attached about a pivot axis to the roof portion proximate a roof portion end. Each of the first and second legs has a stowed position in which the leg generally extends in the longitudinal direction and is in superposition with the roof portion, and an expanded position in which the leg depends from the roof portion and generally extends perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction. The legs are moveable independently of each other from their respective stowed positions to their respective expanded positions under the influence of gravity during lifting of the roof portion. Also disclosed are methods for constructing a modular clearspan building.