Abstract
One of the most important issues in keeping membrane structures in stable condition is to maintain the proper stress distribution over the membrane. However, it is difficult to determine the quantitative real stress level in the membrane after the completion of the structure. The stress relaxation phenomenon of the membrane and the fluttering effect due to strong wind or ponding caused by precipitation may cause severe damage to the membrane structure itself. Therefore, it is very important to know the magnitude of the existing stress in membrane structures for their maintenance. The authors have proposed a new method for separately estimating the membrane stress in two different directions using sound waves instead of directly measuring the membrane stress. The new method utilizes the resonance phenomenon of the membrane, which is induced by sound excitations given through an audio speaker. During such experiment, the effect of the surrounding air on the vibrating membrane cannot be overlooked in order to assure high measurement precision. In this paper, an evaluation scheme for the added mass of membrane with the effect of air on the vibrating membrane and the correction of measurement error is discussed. In addition, three types of membrane materials are used in the experiment in order to verify the expandability and accuracy of the membrane measurement equipment.
Highlights
Membrane structure is a system that is stabilized by maintaining a tensile state of the membrane material, which originally cannot resist bending or pressure
It is a system that allows the whole membrane structure to bear external loads caused by wind or precipitations such as rain and snow and other design loads
Due to the innate characteristic of the membrane material, stress relaxation phenomenon can transpire to the stress that is introduced to the fabric over time
Summary
Membrane structure is a system that is stabilized by maintaining a tensile state of the membrane material, which originally cannot resist bending or pressure. Sasaki developed a method that allows the measurement of the membrane stress through comparing the sound data of the setup membrane stress that has been already gathered in the laboratory, to the sound that has been gathered and evaluated when the hammer resonates the membrane in the actual site [6]. Some of these methods and equipment have been used in actual construction sites. The theoretical evaluation scheme of the added mass of the membrane on the effect of air with the vibrating membrane and the correction of errors for improving estimation accuracy is discussed
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