Hailstone-induced dynamic responses of pretensioned umbrella membrane structure

Abstract

The membrane structure is a flexible structure, which is easy to vibrate or even relax under dynamic load. Engineering accident analysis shows that the relaxation of membrane structure is more likely to lead to structural failure. In this article, the impact load problem is combined with the flexible structure to analyze the impact of hailstone impact load on the dynamic response of membrane structure. First, the umbrella membrane stretching device was designed and manufactured, and the hailstone impact test was carried out on the umbrella membrane structure with polyvinyl chloride membrane material. Dynamic response data, tension relaxation of side cables and vibration deformation of umbrella membrane structures impacted by hailstones with different sizes and different characteristic points were obtained. In the numerical analysis, the form-finding analysis of umbrella membrane structure is carried out by finite element method, and the transient impact analysis is conducted in LS-DYNA. Finally, the reliability of the research results is verified by comparing the numerical and experimental results. The general laws and conclusions are drawn and the disaster-causing mechanism of membrane structure impacted by hailstone is revealed. On the whole, although the probability of hailstone destroying the membrane material directly is very small, it will relax the membrane structure and affect the safety of membrane structure. The conclusions of this article provide a theoretical basis for the design and maintenance of membrane structures.