Abstract
This paper presents the construction process, full scale tests and numerical model of a long barrel-vaulted gridshell prototype made of Eucalyptus globulus Labill. The species potential for gridshell structures is analyzed. A novel erection method taking advantage of the deployable capacity of the grid during curving process is described and implemented in the construction of the full scale prototype. Also the results from local bending tests under large deformations of the laths, shear tests of the joints and bending tests of composite beams with semi-rigid connections are shown. The latter results are compared with those obtained from different 2D numerical model proposals which include joint eccentricities and semi-rigid behavior through the use of spring elements with linear and nonlinear laws. Finally, the results from two load tests performed on the full-scale prototype and monitored by photogrammetry technique are presented. The results are also compared with linear and non-linear 3D numerical models. The models considering non-linear connection behavior showed good agreement over the whole loading range tested.