Study of Pre-Stressed Tent Building Constructions by using Digital Design Tools

Tent building constructions are far superior to the ordinary structural elements, such as reinforced concrete slabs and steel plates. Structural behavior of the tent buildings is complex thus obligating the prospective specialist to deep understand the key concepts. The soft membrane, being a constituent part of the tent constructions, must be pre-stressed. Different pre-stress strategies for arched, high-point and mixed tent roofs are considered using digital design tools of the specialized software package for non-linear structural analysis EASY.2020. The design tools allow to numerically find the initial shape of the soft membrane, to simulate the pre-stress and to visualize the results. Tensioning the membrane along the supporting arches and in the direction which is perpendicular to the arches, lifting the top rings and the combined methods are simulated and analyzed. Application of digital tools to simple models of tent roof constructions facilitates professional skill building in the field of research and development of pre-stressed tent constructions.