Design and analysis of deployable and compliant geostructures

Deployable and compliant structures have increasingly become an area of interest in structural engineering. This has led to the development of a wide variety of structures that move. Deployable structures often utilize joints to transform from a compact state to an expanded state. Compliant structures are similar to deployable structures, but change shape through deformations. These often biologically-inspired structures have been applied to above-ground and space contexts but have not yet been used underground. A deployable compliant geosystem, as described in this thesis, applies principles of structural engineering to improving the performance of ground anchors. Civil engineers have a responsibility to work to reduce the emissions associated with their projects while ensuring that their designs are safe. Improving the performance of ground anchors will reduce the amount of material associated with them. Less material facilitates installation and decreases fuel associated with transportation. Additionally, the energy associated with the system and its cost are both reduced. The work described in this thesis seeks to understand how a deployable compliant geosystem comprised of radially deploying attachments, called awns, can be understood through parametric design and small-scale experimental testing. The thesis begins with the design of the awn geometry, which is defined using parametric design methods. Further studies explored variations of this geometry, including how material can be vertically distributed and how to introduce curvature in the Z-axis. The materials of the awns were also explored – the overall stiffness was varied first, and then functionally-graded materials were introduced to produce awns with programmable awn behavior. The awn variations were fabricated using a multi-material polymer 3D printer and were tested at a small scale. Results of this thesis will serve as a foundation for future work on radially deploying compliant geosystems at full scale.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Civil Engineering

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2023

Author dc:creator

• Tucker, Kaylee A

Contributors dc:contributor

• Sychterz, Ann C

• Deployable Structures
• Compliant Structures
• Additive Manufacturing
• Anchor Piles
• Parametric Design
• Experimental Validation
• Functionally Graded Materials

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2023 Kaylee A. Tucker

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/120442

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F120442