Reticular structures form a three-dimensional force system through the spatial arrangement of rods, with loads shared by the upper chords (under compression), lower chords (under tension), and web members (transmitting shear), creating a "spatial collaborative work" mode. Compared to planar structures (such as trusses), reticular structures have high spatial stiffness and uniform stress distribution, enabling them to cover larger spans with smaller rod sections.

 

Performance Advantages
Large Span, Light Weight: The spatial force characteristics of reticular structures allow spans ranging from tens to hundreds of meters (e.g., large stadiums often exceed 100 meters), with self-weight only 1/3 to 1/5 that of traditional concrete structures.
Flexible Design: They can be designed as flat or curved surfaces (such as spherical or hyperbolic paraboloids) to meet diverse architectural needs (such as circular, square, or polygonal roofs).
High Construction Efficiency: Members and nodes can be prefabricated in factories, with fast on-site assembly. Using lifting equipment shortens construction time, making it suitable for rapid construction of large-scale projects.
Good Economy: Although the unit price of steel is high, the reduced self-weight at large spans reduces the cost of foundations and support structures, resulting in significant overall cost advantages.
Excellent Seismic Performance: The high redundancy of spatial grid structures (multiple members working together) provides good ductility and collapse resistance under seismic action.

 

 

Broad Prospects. Currently, the goals of China's construction industry development are to improve the overall quality of the construction industry, the level of industrial production and technological equipment, to achieve strong competitiveness in the international construction market, and to fully utilize the leading role of the construction industry in driving national economic growth and structural adjustment. By 2010, the goal is to make the construction industry a truly pillar industry of the national economy. The construction industry needs to drive the development of related industries, and accelerating the development of steel structure engineering is a very important aspect. Steel structure systems have comprehensive advantages such as light weight, easy installation, short construction period, good seismic performance, fast investment return, and less environmental pollution. Compared with reinforced concrete structures, they have unique advantages in terms of "high, large, and light" development.

 

Space frame steel structures are spatial grid structural systems composed of multiple rods connected through nodes according to specific rules, belonging to spatial bar structures. With their high load-bearing capacity, flexible shaping ability, and wide applicability, they occupy an important position in large-span buildings.