Figure 1: North facade of Pad 19-20 in Fiera di Bologna.

In this example, the tension structure is an important part of the global structural concept. It is utilized in the roof and in the north external facade. Here only the external north façade is studied.

In reference [1] the initial design concept of the tension system façade was discussed; two proposed tension system solutions were studied: a multicable-beam system and a cable-net system.

Under the same static load combinations (as defined by the Eurocode), the multi-cable-beam solution with fifteen pre-tensioned cable-beams provided a better displacement response compared to the cable net system. However, following a natural frequency analysis, the results indicated that the cable-beam system had a greater sensibility to vibration than the cable-net system. In this paper the authors report the results obtained from the dynamic seismic analysis developed on the fifteen pre-tensioned cable-beams façade (which was the final adopted solution).

A tension structure finite element model is a non-linear system since its mechanical behaviour depends on its instantaneous geometric configuration and on the non-linear response of the 'tension only' elements [2,3].

Therefore, according to Eurocode 8, three groups of spectrum-compatible accelerograms were generated and applied to the structure by means of a non-linear transient dynamic analysis. The simultaneous inspection of the mass participation factors, the modal shapes, and the PSD energy levels, permits to better understand how, for this kind of tension structures, particular attention has to be given to the dynamic response.

1

R. Gori, M. Majowiecki, A. Mastropasqua, "Non-linear F.E. analysis of tension structures used to stabilize the External North Façade of the Pad 19-20 in Fiera di Bologna: Comparison of two different proposed solutions", in B.H.V. Topping and C.A. Mota Soares (Editors), Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Computational Structures Technology, Civil-Comp Press, Stirling, UK, paper 213, 2004. doi:10.4203/ccp.79.213

2

M. Majowiecki, "Tensostrutture: Progetto e verifica", Edizioni Crea,1994

3

M. Majowiecki, F. Zoulas, "On the elastic interaction between rope net and space frame anchorage structures", Third International Conference on Space Structures, University of Surrey, Guilford, 1985

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