Efficiency of shortcut systems in tensile structures against the conventional approach

Abstract

As the tensile surface structures are in much demand in the market nowadays, it is essential to create solutions for any kind of given site situations. It is very common requirement to integrate the tensile canopy solution with the existing building and houses as the standard buildings are not designed to take the loads coming from any additional structure. It is a challenge to provide a tensile surface structure that can be adequate or will impose a well balanced tension forces to the location of its supports. Another scenario is a common issue for the location and availability of area for foundation as normally tensile surface structures tends to having a huge foundation sizes. In this study, it is an engineering focused research which a specific scenario of an existing tensile surface structure has been investigated and its design has been re-done. The approach and strategy of the investigation has been documented in a report showing the considered design parameters, location and site observations, wind loadings, fabric analysis, steel design and foundation design. Each procedures has been elaborately shown in a way to ensure that the readers would understand what are the effects of the loading parameters, location or area where it will be built and other considerations given by the standard codes. This study also provide the method on how the wind loads was applied in the fabric surface at different kind of orientations and load cases. After the fabric analysis, the fabric stress diagrams and fabric deflection views are shown to give visual indications on what are the physical changes that might occur to the material at the maximum loading scenarios. The steel sections for the post and support were selected and designed according to the outcome of the fabric analysis and combinations of loads as per the given standard on the code book. As the goal is to find an adequate solution for the site common issues and limitations, the same fabric form and shape has been designed with a steel support considering the system with shortcut of forces in which the support components has been changed and thus creating or leading to a different condition of the foundation. Then at the end of this investigation, the difference of the results has been compared to show the advantages and disadvantages of each tactics. The main purpose of this evaluation is to guide the readers on how this strategies can be of a solution in some particular situations.