Structural investigation of the Trans World Airlines Flight Center

Thesis: M. Eng., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2018.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Papp, Alexander (Alexander Robertson)
Other Authors: Caitlin Mueller.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/119319
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author Papp, Alexander (Alexander Robertson)
author2 Caitlin Mueller.
author_facet Caitlin Mueller.
Papp, Alexander (Alexander Robertson)
author_sort Papp, Alexander (Alexander Robertson)
collection MIT
description Thesis: M. Eng., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2018.
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spelling mit-1721.1/1193192019-04-12T23:14:12Z Structural investigation of the Trans World Airlines Flight Center Papp, Alexander (Alexander Robertson) Caitlin Mueller. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Civil and Environmental Engineering. Thesis: M. Eng., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2018. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (pages 80-81). The Trans World Airline Flight Center at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York is one of the most recognizable structural expressionist buildings of the 2 0 "' century. Designed by architect Eero Saarinen, the structure features an expansive 310' by 220' (95 x 67 meters) roof composed of four vaulted shells only supported by four buttresses along the edges. Structural engineering was fulfilled by Ammann and Whitney, who had worked with Saarinen previously on Kresge Auditorium. The structure was designed by hand without the aid of modern finite element software. This thesis examines the collaboration between the architects and engineers and attempts to dissect some of the major structural changes that occurred during development, most notably with the addition of massive skylights that separated the roof from one shell into four connected at the center. The original analysis method, described in a 1962 International Association of Shells and Spatial Structures paper, is reviewed and compared to a model constructed in Rhino 3D and tested using Karamba 3D parametric structural analysis software. The application of these digital tools can potentially allow far more inventive designs into the future and give engineers more confidence in the structures that they build. by Alexander Papp. M. Eng. 2018-11-28T15:43:01Z 2018-11-28T15:43:01Z 2018 2018 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/119319 1062509821 eng MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 114 pages application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Papp, Alexander (Alexander Robertson)
Structural investigation of the Trans World Airlines Flight Center
title Structural investigation of the Trans World Airlines Flight Center
title_full Structural investigation of the Trans World Airlines Flight Center
title_fullStr Structural investigation of the Trans World Airlines Flight Center
title_full_unstemmed Structural investigation of the Trans World Airlines Flight Center
title_short Structural investigation of the Trans World Airlines Flight Center
title_sort structural investigation of the trans world airlines flight center
topic Civil and Environmental Engineering.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/119319
work_keys_str_mv AT pappalexanderalexanderrobertson structuralinvestigationofthetransworldairlinesflightcenter