Design of Truss Beams for Aluminum Gutter Glass Greenhouses

Aluminum gutter glass greenhouses are the main structural style of modern Dutch-style glass greenhouses. In recent years, large-scale glass greenhouses covering tens of thousands or even over 100,000 square meters have all adopted the aluminum gutter design. This article shares the design of longitudinal truss beams for aluminum gutter glass greenhouses.

 1. Conventional Design of Aluminum Gutter Truss Beams 

Conventional aluminum gutter glass greenhouses mostly adopt 4-meter or 5-meter bay widths. The upper and lower chords of the truss use 60*40*3.0 square tubes, and the diagonal braces use 40*40*2.0 or 30*30*2.0 square tubes. The 60mm width of the upper and lower chords is consistent with the width of the 180*60*4.0 columns, which facilitates the sealing of internal thermal insulation systems later and improves the thermal insulation performance of the glass greenhouse.

 2. Truss Beam Design for 8-Meter Bay Width 

To achieve larger longitudinal space, some aluminum gutter glass greenhouses adopt 8-meter or 10-meter bay widths. A longitudinal truss beam is designed to support a single column. It is worth noting that the height of the longitudinal truss beam is narrower than that of the transverse truss beam. This is to avoid conflicts when the internal thermal insulation and internal shading systems operate with their drives. 

 3. Advantages of Aluminum Gutter Glass Greenhouses 

Compared with iron gutters, aluminum gutters have a longer service life and better ductility. They can be extruded into hollow structures, offering excellent thermal insulation performance. Meanwhile, aluminum materials provide better sealing when in contact with glass. Currently, they have become the preferred material for large-scale multi-span greenhouses.