Wooden Trusses Reconstruction and Analysis Through Parametric 3D Modeling

This paper aims to indicate a new methodological approach, based on generative algorithms, to attempt a more in-depth and transversal understanding of the behavior of these wooden structures. The developed method accelerates modeling procedures and brings on new tools for analyzing these structural systems when surveyed through TLS devices. The main topic of this work is the most recent step of a wider research project that has analyzed a few wooden roofing structures in the area of bologna. These case studies are represented by a set of important churches in Bologna, all built between the 16th and 18th centuries, whose pitched roofs are supported by timber trusses. Among them, the most impressive is the wooden truss in the St. Peter Cathedral that has approximately 26 meters of span, 7 meters of height for nearly 9 tons of weight. It also shows a complex static conception with the coexistence of an external nondeformable triangle and an internal virtual discharging arc. The focus is on the transformation of the point cloud into 3D models using parametric modeling tools such as Grasshopper generative algorithms. These algorithms, once created for a single truss, allow to automatically generating 3D models of all trusses, changing only input parameters.