Dynamic analysis of cable roofs under transient wind: A comparison between time domain and frequency domain approaches

At present, high-speed computing capabilities and advanced nonlinear dynamic finite element procedures enable detailed dynamic analysis of cable structures. Although deterministic approaches require considerable analysis time and effort in relation to modeling, running, and data processing, they seem to be the only alternative to obtain high accuracy. Detailed dynamic analysis of cable roof networks is sophisticated and requires advanced modeling expertise. This paper presents a comparison between detailed nonlinear dynamic analysis and a simplified frequency domain approach to estimate the maximum probable response of weakly nonlinear cable roofs. The approach can be considered as alternative to detailed time-domain analysis in the preliminary design phase, or can be used to validate results obtained from more elaborated numerical models. The proposed method is illustrated with two examples of cable net roofs that were also analysed in the time domain.