Computational method for the deformation mechanism of non-prestressed cable net structures based on the vector form intrinsic finite element method

Abstract

An effective computational method for the non-prestressed cable net structure with large deformation problem is proposed in the present study. This computational method is based on the vector form intrinsic finite element (VFIFE) method, which is a novel method to analyze structural behavior. Firstly, we proposed the basic principle and calculation process for analyzing the deformation mechanism of various cable net structures and compiled a finite element analysis program. Then, the numerical examples such as the rod chain mechanism and the space hyperboloid cable net are analyzed in detail. In addition, the accurate tracking of the motion status at different times was realized and the experiment in previous study was also used to verify the calculation results. A space cable net model experiment was designed and performed. The feasibility and correctness of this method were verified by the comparison of the measured deformation and internal force to the numerical results. The computational method proposed in this paper can effectively calculate the whole process of large deformation and internal force distribution of the non-prestressed cable net structure or similar structures, which provides an important method reference for the numerical analysis of such large deformations and strongly nonlinear engineering problems.