Impact of saddle membrane structure by hail with combined particle sizes: Numerical simulation and experimental investigation

Abstract

In this paper, the impact of the hail with the single and combined particle sizes on the saddle membrane structure is studied by experiments and numerical simulations. In the experiment, the hail particles fall at a certain height and hit the membrane, while the dynamic response of feature points on the membrane and the cable tension is monitored. Then the saddle membrane structure impacted by the hail particles is simulated by the finite element software ANSYS/LS-DYNA. As shown by the numerical simulation and experimental results, even though the combined particle size hail load is not enough to cause direct damage to the membrane, large deformation of the saddle membrane structure will be produced by the impact. Meanwhile, the tension of the cable is greatly reduced, and the maximum relaxation rate reaches as high as 25.12%. In addition, the membrane displacement induced by hails decreases with the increase of the rise-span ratio and pretension. Therefore, the pretension relaxation induced by the hail impact should be considered in the design of the membrane structure. The stiffness and stability of the structure can be improved by increasing the rise-span ratio and pretension. The pretension should be monitored regularly so that the maintenance of the secondary tensioning can be carried out in time.