Self-Supporting Structural Joint for Fast Modular Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current structural joints in building construction, particularly in prefabricated and modular structures, face challenges in efficient assembly, load transfer, and alignment, often requiring complex fastening systems and welding, which can be labor-intensive and prone to errors, especially in situations where access is limited or weather conditions affect assembly.
Innovation Solution
A releasable, self-supporting structural joint design featuring tubular members with profiled mating faces and splice plates that utilize gravity for alignment and fasteners for secure attachment, allowing for easy assembly and disassembly, and accommodating various orientations and sizes of structural members, reducing the need for internal nuts and welding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If traditional fastening systems and welding are used to connect structural members, then structural integrity is ensured, but assembly becomes labor-intensive and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The joint system is divided into distinct modular components: profiled structural members with integrated mating faces, splice plates, and fasteners. This segmentation allows pre-fabrication of components with precise factory-controlled tolerances, enabling rapid on-site assembly while maintaining structural integrity through precise geometric interlocking supplemented by fasteners.
Solution Approach 2:
The structural members are pre-profiled at the factory with precise mating faces and integrated fastening features. This preliminary action ensures that components arrive at the construction site ready for direct assembly, eliminating the need for on-site welding or complex fastening operations, thereby improving productivity while ensuring strength.
2Reliability
If complex fastening systems are used to ensure load transfer, then structural reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The splice plate and fastening system are merged into an integrated unit that combines load transfer and alignment functions. The splice plate is precisely attached to one structural member and features pre-configured fastener holes that align with the profiled mating face of the adjacent member, creating a unified fastening system that simplifies assembly while ensuring reliable load transfer.
Solution Approach 2:
The profiled mating faces on the structural members are designed to self-align during assembly, with the geometry of the profiles automatically guiding the splice plate and fasteners into correct positions. This self-aligning feature reduces the need for complex alignment procedures and skilled labor, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining reliability.
3Stability of the object's composition
If structural members are designed for permanent installation, then structural stability is maximized, but adaptability for relocation is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The joint system transitions from a static permanent connection to a dynamic reusable connection. The profiled mating faces and fastened splice plates create a stable connection during service, but the same design allows for controlled disassembly and relocation, enabling the structure to adapt to different positions or configurations while maintaining stability in each location.
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
The joint enables efficient, cost-effective assembly and disassembly of structural components, improving handling and transportation capabilities while ensuring structural integrity, and can be mass-produced using advanced manufacturing techniques, reducing labor costs and assembly time.
Implementation Method 1
A releasable, self-supporting structural joint design featuring tubular members with profiled mating faces and splice plates that utilize gravity for alignment
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3
AI summary
In some embodiments, the structural joint includes a first structural member having a first mating face at one end of the first structural member, the first mating face having a two dimensional profile, a second structural member having a second mating face at one end of the second structural member and positioned proximate to the first mating face of the first structural member, the second mating face having a two dimensional profile that is similar to the two dimensional profile of the first mating face, a splice plate secured to the first structural member at the first mating face and removably secured to the second structural member at the second mating face, and fasteners that secure the splice plate to the first structural member and removably attach the splice plate to the second structural member.