Effect of Added Mass on Wind-Induced Vibration of a Circular Flat Membrane by Wind Tunnel Tests

Abstract

Flexible roof structures, such as membranes, are sensitive to wind action due to their flexibility and light weight. Previously, the effect of added mass on the vibration frequency of membrane structures has been experimentally tested. However, the effect of added mass on wind-induced vibration remains unclear. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of added mass on the wind-induced vibration of a circular flat membrane based on wind tunnel tests. First, wind tunnel tests were conducted to obtain wind pressure distribution from the rigid model and wind-induced vibration from the aeroelastic model of a circular flat membrane. Secondly, a dynamic finite element analysis for the proposed added mass model was conducted to obtain the wind-induced vibration of the membrane structure. Then, with the wind pressure distribution obtained from the rigid model tests, dynamic analysis was conducted either with or without consideration of the effect of added mass. According to the dynamic analysis results and the wind tunnel test results, it is clear that considering the effect of added mass in dynamic analysis can significantly improve the accuracy of a wind-induced response. Such an effect is more significant at the windward than the central zone. The inclusion of added mass can result in a larger displacement response as wind velocity increases but a smaller response as the prestress level increases.