Tensile Structures

Tanvi Choudhari
Vrunda Pachchigar
Namrata Vyas
Digisha Sinvhal
Devanshi Mehta
• Tensile structures are characterized
by the prevalence of tension force in
their structural systems and by Tension
limitation of compression forces to a
few support members
• Thus these lightweight structures do not
require the considerable amount of
construction material to absorb the
buckling and bending moments in
compression members.
Compression

• categories of tensile structures are

8. mast and cable supported membranes
9. pneumatically inflated membrane.
1.mast and cable supported membranes

•simple saddle membrane with linear

perimeter supports.

•Ridge type membrane with linear

internal and perimeter support.

•Arch type membrane with linear

internal support.

•High point type membrane with

multiple internal support.
Types of structure with
significant tension
members
Linear structures
Suspension bridges
Cable-stayed beams or trusses
Cable trusses
Straight tensioned cables
Three-dimensional structures
Tensegrity structures
Pre stressed membranes
Pneumatically stressed membranes
Cable and membrane structures
• There are many different
doubly-curved forms, many
of which have special
mathematical properties.
The most basic doubly
curved form is the saddle
shape, which can be a
hyperbolic paraboloid
Tensioned fabric structures
• True tensile fabric structures are those in which every part
of the fabric is in tension.
• The fundamental rule for stability is that a tensioned fabric
structure must curve equally in opposite directions, this
gives the canopy stability. This is known as an anticlastic
form and mathematically as a hyperbolic paraboloid.

• We put the fabric of a tensile structure under tension. We

do not stretch the fabric into position. It is cut and bonded
together to make its final shape

Pre-tension is the most efficient way of resisting live loads

snow, wind etc.

Design
Fabrication
Erection.
Design factors
Location (Wind and snow loads;
Foundations
Drainage
Fabrics :
1.PVC (polyvinyl chloride) coated polyester
polyester is the least expensive, design life of 15 to 20 years due to ultra violet attack
2. Silicon coated giass
Silicon glass has higher tensile strength than polyester, but being glass it is brittle,
sub­ject to damage from repeated flexing. Not subject to ultra violet attack, 30+ year
design life.
3. Teflon coated glass PVC coated
Silicon and Teflon are almost completely chemically inert, resistant to moisture and
micro-organisms and have self cleaning properties.
Internal fabrics :
All types of fabric can be used if suitably fire retarded.
The most commonly used is PVC coated glass cloth
due to its easy maintenance and very good fire resistance.

Form finding :
The final shape, or form, of a fabric structure depends upon
• shape, or pattern, of the fabric
• The geometry of the supporting structure (such as masts, cables, ring beams etc)
• the pretension applied to the fabric or its supporting structure
Advantages :
• Unique building medium.
• Lightweight and flexible, fabric interacts with and expresses natural forces.
• Tensile fabric structures are an environmentally sensitive medium. Tension is the most
efficient way of using any material, it utilises the material at maximum efficiency rather
than just the material at the ex­tremes of the cross sectional form, as in bending and
compression loads. Fabric structures have higher strength/weight ratio than concrete or
steel. Most fabrics can be recycled.
• A fabric structure can be designed for almost any condition, heavier fabrics and more 3
dimensional forms will cope with extreme wind and snow loads.

Disadvantages :
• Fabric structures being mainly fabric and cables have little or no rigidity and therefore
must rely on their form and internal pre-stress to perform the this function.
• As a rule of thumb spans greater than 15 metres should be avoided however, much
greater spans can be achieved by reinforcing the fabric with webbing or cables.
• Loss of tension is dangerous for the stability of the structure and if not regularly
maintained will lead to fail­ure of the structure.
Cables :
• Cables can be of mild steel, high strength steel , stainless steel
or polyester or aramid fibres.
• Structural cables are made of a series of small strands twisted
or bound together to form a much larger cable
 CABLE-NETS
•Cable net structures are for covering large unsupported spans with
considerable ease.
•The constructional elements are steel pylons, steel cable networks, steel or
wooden grids, and roof coverings of acrylic glass or translucent, plastic-
reinforced sheeting.
•Cables are fastened into the edges of the steel network, and are laid over
pin-jointed and usually obliquely positioned steel supports, and then anchored.
Basic structure of the cable-net roof
OLYMPIC ROOF, Munich
Construction materials used:

Masts : steel
cable net : steel
membrane : acrylic
panels
covered area : 74 000 m2
Construction
The cable net as built, the nets are
formed of crossed pairs of strands
spaced 750 millimeters in both
directions. This spacing remains
constant regardless of net shape, all
changes of plane in the double-curved
surfaces being accommodated by
changes in the strand intersection
angles . Intersections joints were
formed by an automatic process,
aluminum clamps with central holes
being pressed on to all strands at
exactly 750-millimetre centers under a
defined level of pre-stress. The two sets
of strands could thus be formed into a
750 x 750-millimetre mesh with no
need for measurement, simply by
connecting the aluminium clamps
The connections used one bolt per joint,
resulting in a freely rotatable node
that allowed the mesh to adjust to any
angle of intersection. With regard to
cable specification, a balance had to be
struck between the need for cable
flexibility (which favours a strand spun
from many thin wires) and durability
(which favours one spun from fewer
thick wires). The decision was to form
the net from strands spun 19 heavily
galvanised 2,3- and 3,3-millimetre steel
wires, with a lay length of 10 x the lay
diameter .
Main and edge
cables
The main cables, composed of five The distance,
strands formed from between 37 and parallel to the axis
109 wires each, had to be held at high of the cable, in
tension to control deformaton of the which a strand
roof under snow and wind loads. makes one
Permissible load was 11,5 mN complete turn
(1150tonf); where forces exceed this about that axis is
figure several ropes were coupled known as the lay
rather than increasing cable size. The length or pitch
edge cables vary in specification, a length
typical example being a locked-surface
wire rope of 81 millimetres diameter.
With a safety factor of 2 the permissible
load is 3mN (300tonf) and again several
Erection on site: The
cable nets were
completely assembled
on the ground, then
lifted to their final
positions.
Foundations and masts
Tension foundations were needed to anchor the main cables
down to earth. Upward pulls of up to 50mN (in the case of the
big edge cable of the stadium) are exerted on such
foundations, and three foundation types were used
inclined slot foundations, working rather like tent pegs
gravity anchor foundations, deriving their anchoring effects
from self-weight plus the weight of the soil surcharge
earth anchor foundations were needed to support the
masts.
To accommodate some movement these footings consist of
rubber bearing pads on concrete bases. Temporary steel
balls were provided under the rubber pads to allow rotation
during assembly .
Masts are cylindrical welded steel tubes up to 80 metres long
and with a 50mN (5000 tonf) load capacity.
 Roof covering
The transparent roof covering was formed of 2.9 x 2.9-metre acrylic panels of 4 millimeter
thickness, laid on the cable net and bolted to the intersection nodes. As the angles of
intersection in the cable net change up to 6 degrees under load and temperature change,
the rigid acrylic panels had to be flexibly connected to the net. This was done by supporting
the panels on neoprene pesetals , allowing them to 'float', and sealing the joints between
panels with a continuous neoprene profile clamped to the panel edges. The strip had to be
thin and wide enough to absorb movements by wrinkling - unfortunately an inelegant detail.
Detail of how the acrylic plates are connected
with each other . They are all framed in a
steel square section and then connected with
each other using bolt connection .
Also the each of the acrylic plate rest on the
net structure which is also made up of steel
cables passing horizontally
as well as laterally. None of the joint is
continues with each other In order to gain
more stable form .

passage on the top from where the
people can pass through.
steel mast supporting the structure radially
from the one of the end point of the sag .
the part where the membrane is made to
rise with the help of the mast there forms
a slope and that slope is provided with a
path .
 CABLE-NET:
ICE SKATING RINK (OLYMPIC PARK
MUNICH) - 1983

MAST AND CABLE SUPPORTED MEMBRANES

•Arch type membrane with linear Arch-
external support.
•To enable the open ice-surface in the
Olympic Park to be used all round the
year, independently of the weather, a
light roofing, naturally without supports,
was required
•a steel-trussed arch of three chords.
•With a span of 100m and a height of
roughly 19m at its apex,
• the arch is capable of transmitting any
thrusts to two large concrete abutments.
•Two sets of cables hang in opposing
curves from the arch, stabilizing it by
their anchorage and forming a net.
• These symmetrical nets of cable have a
grid of 75 x 75 cm and support a wooden
lattice, upon which is attached a
translucent plastic sheeting.
• At the roof's edges the cable nets are
bordered by garland-shaped cables which
pass over adjustable angled supports of
steel being anchored fast.
•The construction and form of the LAYOUT PLAN
“hanging from the arch”
•correspond to that of the roof edge.
•a series of elliptically strung
openings below the latticed arch .
These are filled by "glass eyes"
equipped with ventilators.
•The continuous "facades" between 3
to 5 m tall between the edge of the
roof and the ground in the region of
the angled supports incline from the
eaves to the interior at an angle
corresponding to that of these
supports.
•the first ever in itself , horizontally
barred glass "façade" which is able to
participate in the formal changes
allowed by the anchoring cables.

ELEVATIONS
STRUCTURAL
DETAILS
CABLE JOINERY DETAILS
 AKASHI KAIKYO BRIDGE,
• Vital Statistics:
JAPAN
Location: Kobe and
Awaji-shima, Japan
• Completion Date: 1998
• Cost: $4.3 billion
• Length: 12,828
feet(3910 m)
• Type: Suspension
• Purpose: Roadway
• Materials: Steel
• Longest Single Span:
6,527 feet
• Clearance below :65.72
meters
• Structural Type:
Suspension bridge
• thegravity-anchored,
longest spanning
deck
truss
suspension bridge in the world.
• The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge isn't
just long -- it's also extremely tall.
Its two towers, at 928 feet(283
m), soar higher than any other
bridge towers in the world.
• Design had to take into
account that the area had
suffered several earthquakes,
(measured 6 on the Richter
scale).
• the complicated topography in
the strait required anchoring
one of the towers of the
bridge's central span on a
steep slope, while the other
foundation was relatively flat.
The enormous wind forces, were
especially relevant, as they
are for all suspension bridges,
because of their flexibility, in
fact, the abundance of
typhoons clearly made in- 283m
depth climatological studies
necessary.
• Hurricanes, tsunamis, and
earthquakes rattle and thrash
the island almost annually.
• To examine these factors and
investigate potential design
criteria applicable to an area
with such extreme conditions,
SOLUTION
• The structure of the bridge
strengthened with a truss, or
complex network of triangular
braces, beneath the roadway.
• The open network of triangles
makes the bridge very rigid,
but it also allows the wind to
blow right through the
structure.
• 20 tuned mass dampers
(TMDs) placed in each tower.
The TMDs swing in the
opposite direction of the wind
sway. So when the wind blows
the bridge in one direction, the
TMDs sway in the opposite
direction, effectively
"balancing" the bridge and
canceling out the sway.
• the Akashi Kaikyo can handle
180-mile-per-hour winds, and
Each section has a triangulated itThis
form.
can withstand an earthquake
means that weight is kept to a minimum
withand
a magnitude ofhas
yet each section upmaximum
to 8.5
strength
hinged stiffening girder system, allowing
the structure to withstand winds
• The bridge also contains pendulums that
are designed to operate at the
resonance frequency of the bridge to
dampen the forces.
• The steel cables have 3,00,000 km of
wire.
•each cable is 112cm in diameter and
contains 36,830 strands of wire. , a new
low-alloy steel strengthened with silicon
was developed; its tensile strength
(resistance against pulling forces) is 12%
greater than any previous steel wire
formulation. On some suspension bridges,
the steel wires forming the cables have
been galvanized (coated with zinc).

• Here's how this bridge

stacks up against some
of the longest-
spanning bridges in
the world. (total
length, in feet)
• Akashi Kaikyo Bridge
STAGES IN CONSTRUCTING THE AKASHI-KAIKYO
SUSPENSION BRIDGE

Erection of Suspension Bridges

 FOUNDATION
• The two towers stand on two
large circular foundations.
The moulds for the two
foundations were built in dry
dock weighing 15 000 tonnes
and 60 metres height.
• In March 1989 the moulds of
foundations of the towers
being towed out to their
positions in the sea by
numerous tugs. When in
position the moulds were
flooded with 250 million
litres of water, taking eight
hours to complete. By the
time the moulds were full,
they were resting on the sea
bed.

• Each of the two foundations

were filled with 265 000
cubic metres of concrete.
However, ordinary concrete
does not mix with water and
so the Japanese had to
develop special concrete
which was capable of mixing
  PYLONS /TOWERS
   In 1989 work on the two
towers began.
• Each is nearly as high as the
Eiffel Tower and is designed
to have a 200year lifespan.
• The towers are 283 metres in
height and if the foundations
are included, this adds a
further 60 metres.

• Each tower is made up of 90

sections and they were built
with absolute precision as the
design allowed only a 25mm
offset at the top. In order to
achieve this level of accuracy
each of the blocks were
‘surface ground’ to a precise
finish. 700 000 bolts were
used to fix each of the towers
together.

• Each tower is designed to flex

/ move in storm force
conditions. They and even
have a special mechanism
that counteracts and dampens
movement
• Double sets of 8 columns of a 4m
diameter each are aligned in a
rectangle with two 7m diameter FOOTING
columns at each center, and the
footing caps atop the sets of
columns.
•These columns and footing are
RCC structure.
•These columns were composed of
RC piers and steel-pipes, which
were not strength members, but
they were designed as RC piers
protection members from outer
damage. The steel pipe was
regarded as strength member in
structure of the multi-column
the seismic analysis. foundation.
• When the towers were completedCABLES,(MAIN & TEMPORARY)
a temporary cable stretched
between both and a wire mesh
gangway built so that workers
could start construction of the
main cables. Workers and
machinery pulled the main cables
from one tower to the other.
• Once the main cables and the
vertical cables were in position
the deck / roadway was fixed
hanging below them,
• 290 sections make up the entire
bridge.
• cranes in operation and the deck
as it was fixed in position, section
by section.
 DECK (ROAD)VIEW OF THE BRIDG
VIEW OF AKASHI KAIKYO FROM BELOW
HE DECK BRIDGE

ARIAL VIEW OF AKASHI KAIKYO

The London Eye
• Designed by: architects David Marks,
Julia Barfield, Malcolm Cook, Mark
Sparrowhawk, Steven Chilton and Nic
Bailey
• Height 135 metres (443 ft) ,biggest
Ferris wheel in Europe
• most popular paid tourist
attraction in the United Kingdom,
visited by over 3 million people a year
• Described by its operators as "the
world's tallest cantilevered
observation wheel" (because the
entire structure is supported by
an A-frame on one side only).
allowing the wheel to hang over
the River Thames.
LOCATION:
London Eye is located at the western end of Jubilee Gardens, on the South Bank of
the River Thames in London, United Kingdom, between Westminster Bridge and
Hungerford Bridge.
HOW LONDON EYE WORKS
• The rim of the Eye is supported
by tie rods and resembles a huge
spoked bicycle wheel.

The London Eye is an excellent

example of a frame structure. Its
steel design forms an "A" shape,
with two large tapered legs at
the base -- 20 meters apart and
each over 58 meters in length.
The legs lean toward the river at
a 65-degree angle.

Cable backstays keep the

frame from tilting into the river --
they're anchored to the top of
the frame and then buried in a
concrete foundation 33 meters
deep.

The spindle itself is supported by

the frame on one side only
(cantilevered), and the frame
holds the wheel over the river.
COMPONENTS OF LONDON EYE IN DETAIL
Capsules
• The London eye has 32 capsules.
Capsules have 360 degree views, a heating
and cooling system and bench seating. It
rotates at 26 cm (10 in) per second (about
0.9 km/h (0.5mph) so that one revolution
takes about 30 minutes.
• Each capsule 24 people.
• Instead of being suspended under the
wheel, the capsules turn within circular
mounting rings fixed to the outside of the
main rim.
• The result is a stunning 360 degree
panoramic view from the top of the wheel.
1.Cables
• six backstay cables holding the wheel in place

The wheel part of the London Eye resembles a bicycle wheel --

with a spindle and hub connected to the rim by 64 cables, or
spokes.

16 additional rotation cables are attached to the hub at an

opposing angle holding the rim tight to the central spindle.
to ensure there's no lag between the turning of the rim and the
turning of the hub.

6 BACKSTAY CABLES
1.Foundation

• The main foundation for the London Eye is situated underneath the A-frame legs
• it required 2,200 tonnes of concrete and 44 concrete piles - each of which is 33 metres
deep
• The second foundation, the tension foundation holding the backstay cables behind
the wheel, used 1,200 tonnes of concrete.
1. Spindle
• At the centre of the London Eye is the vast hub and spindle.
• The main elements were manufactured cast in steel.
• The spindle itself was too large to cast as a single piece so instead was produced
in eight smaller sections.
• Two further castings, in the form of great rings form the main structural element
of the hub.
• The hub has a rolled steel tube forming the spacer that holds them apart.
• All the casting was carried out by Skoda Steel.
 
CONSTRUCTION OF LONDON EYE

•The wheel
was
constructed
in sections
which were
floated up the
Thames on
barges and
assembled
lying flat on
piled
platforms in
the river
which made
construction
faster, easier
•Once the wheel was complete it was raised into
an upright position by a strand jack system(
hydraulic lifts and cables), being lifted at 2
degrees an hour until it reached 65 degrees.
• It was left in that position for a week while
engineers prepared for the second phase of the
lift. The total weight of steel in the Eye is 1,700
tons. Once it was in final position, the 32
capsules were attached to the rim, which took
eight days.
During its construction, the London Eye
underwent extensive safety monitoring, testing
and evaluation.
 MECHANISM OF THE LONDON EYE
The London Eye rotates around the hub like a MOTORIZED bicycle wheel.
Hydraulic motors, driven by electric pumps, provide energy to turn the wheel.
The drive systems are located in two towers, one at each end of the wheel's
boarding platform.

How the wheel turns: Standard truck tires along the rim of the wheel act as
friction rollers. Hydraulic motors turn the tires, and the rotation of the tires turns
the wheel. A computer controls the hydraulic motor speed for each tire.

• The project was truly European with major components coming from six countries:
the steel was supplied from the UK and fabricated in The Netherlands by the
Dutch company Hollandia, the cables came from Italy, the bearings came from
Germany, the spindle and hub were cast in the Czech Republic, the capsules
were made by Poma in France (and the glass for these came from Italy), and the
electrical components from the UK.

The London Eye can withstand winds of

a 50-year storm, the worst storm
anticipated to occur once in a period of
50 years, and if it's ever struck by
lighting, the strike would be conducted
to the ground with no harm to
passengers