Bahá’í Temple of South America in Santiago, Chile
Customer Project
An extraordinary structure was built in Chile: the "Temple of Light." It is one of eight Bahá'í temples worldwide. The monotheistic Bahá'í religion has about seven million followers, mainly in India, Iran, Africa, and North and South America. It took many decades to plan the temple.
| Structural Engineering |
Structural analysis, construction and completion (steel and roofing) Josef Gartner GmbH, Würzburg, Germany josef-gartner.permasteelisagroup.com |
| Architect |
Hariri Pontarini Architects Toronto, Canada www.hariripontarini.com |
| Investor |
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís rel="noopener noreferrer" of Canada www.ca.bahai.org |
Model
Josef Gartner GmbH, the German customer of Dlubal Software, was given the job of planning, design and construction of the entire structure above the foundation.
Structure
The shape of the temple resembles a nine‑petalled blossom of a lotus flower. The building has a diameter of about 34 m and a height of 30 m. The substructure consists of a two-story concrete structure and a flat footing.
As the site is placed in a Chilean region with a high seismic risk, it was necessary to uncouple the structure horizontally from the ground with regard to vibrations. That is why a total of ten friction pendulum bearings were arranged between the concrete columns and the second intermediate ceiling.
The steel supporting structure is a kind of space frame with an upper and lower chord layer consisting of rectangular cross‑sections as well as round pipe diagonals serving as connecting elements.
The nine petals that are identical in construction are closing with their leaf apices at the maximum point forming a light dome (oculus). The structural skeleton is formed, like for real plant petals, by an interior framework consisting of round pipes with thicker section walls of d = 323.9 mm.
First, the building was modeled using the design software Rhinoceros. Then, the complete 3D model was transferred to RFEM and RSTAB and optimized in close cooperation with the architect.
Finally, Gartner calculated the steel structure in RFEM and RSTAB considering the impact of earthquakes.
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Classes of Anchor Bolts in RF-/JOINTS Steel - Column Base
Table 3.1 of EN 1993‑1‑8:2010‑12 defines the nominal values of the yield strength and the ultimate limit strength of bolts. The bolt classes given here are 4.6, 4.8, 5.6, 5.8, 6.8, 8.8, 10.9. The note for this table states that the National Annex may exclude certain bolt classes. For the NA of Germany, these are the bolt classes 4.8, 5.8, and 6.8.
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SHAPE-THIN | Cold-Formed Sections
SHAPE-THIN determines the effective cross-sections according to EN 1993-1-3 and EN 1993-1-5 for cold-formed sections. You can optionally check the geometric conditions for the applicability of the standard specified in EN 1993‑1‑3, Section 5.2.
The effects of local plate buckling are considered according to the method of reduced widths and the possible buckling of stiffeners (instability) is considered for stiffened sections according to EN 1993-1-3, Section 5.5.
As an option, you can perform an iterative calculation to optimize the effective cross-section.
You can display the effective cross-sections graphically.
Read more about designing cold-formed sections with SHAPE-THIN and RF-/STEEL Cold-Formed Sections in this technical article: Design of a Thin-Walled, Cold-Formed C-Section According to EN 1993-1-3.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- I would like to calculate and design "Temporary Structures". What do I need for this?
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- How can I perform the design of the tension resistance of a smooth column in a smooth bucket column base, i.e. the design against pulling out of the column?
- In the RF‑/STEEL EC3 add-on module, I obtain an extremely high design ratio for a member in the case of "Biaxial bending, shear and axial force." Although the axial force is relatively high, the design ratio seems to be unrealistic. What is the reason?
- For which programs is the STEEL Warping Torsion add-on module available?
- I have just noticed that the STEEL EC3 add-on module also calculates with γM0 = 1.0 when designing a tension member, although it should actually be γM2 = 1.25. How can I perform the design correctly?
- Is it possible to design intermittent welds in the CRANEWAY add-on module?
- I design a cross-section created in the SHAPE‑THIN program by using the RF‑STEEL EC3 add-on module, but the program shows the error message "ER006 Invalid type of c/t-part for cross-section of type General." What can I do?
- For a buckling analysis, FE‑BUCKLING determines the governing shear stress of τ = 7.45 kN/cm², while RF‑/STEEL gives the result of the maximum shear stress of τ = 8.20 kN/cm². Where does this difference come from?
- Why do I get a design ratio for the stability analysis according to 6.2.9.1 in the STEEL EC3 add-on module? Why is a * added to Equation (6.36)?
Customer Projects
Programs Used for Structural Analysis
RSTAB
Main Program
Main Program
The structural engineering software for design of frame, beam and truss structures, performing linear and nonlinear calculations of internal forces, deformations, and support reactions
Price of First License
2,550.00 USD
2,550.00 USD
RFEM
Main Program
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Structural engineering software for finite element analysis (FEA) of planar and spatial structural systems consisting of plates, walls, shells, members (beams), solids and contact elements
Price of First License
3,540.00 USD
3,540.00 USD
RSTAB
Dynamic Analysis
Add-on Module
Dynamic analysis of natural frequencies and mode shapes of member models
Price of First License
850.00 USD
850.00 USD
RSTAB
Dynamic Analysis
Add-on Module
Seismic and static load analysis using the multi-modal response spectrum analysis
Price of First License
580.00 USD
580.00 USD
