Analysis of the effective length factors of members in single-layer glulam reticulated shells

This paper investigated the local instability of a single member in single-layer glulam reticulated shell with bolted joints. To account for the influence of semi-rigidity of joints, the in-plane and out-of-plane tests of full-scale glulam bolted joints were conducted. Based on parametric analysis in ABAQUS, simplified equations were proposed to calculate the stiffness of bolted joints. Subsequently, finite element models of the overall single-layer glulam reticulated shell were established to analyze the effects of width-height ratio, structural span, and rise-span ratio. The calculation method of the out-of-plane effective length factors were improved to consider the influence of joint semi-rigidity. It was concluded that the recommended value of out-of-plane effective length factors in steel and aluminum alloy reticulated shells may not provide sufficient safety reserve for glulam reticulated shells. The in-plane and out-of-plane effective length factors of members in single-layer glulam reticulated shells were recommended to be 1.0 and 1.9 respectively.