Collapse of Air-Supported Structures

Abstract

Air-supported membrane structures are widely used. The stiffness and shape of such structures depend on the pressure difference between indoor and outdoor environments. As the leakage of indoor air may lead to the collapse of the structure, it is necessary to study the deflation deformation process, including the properties that can cause air-supported membrane structures to collapse. In this study, a new theoretical model of the collapse property was proposed. The collapse process was divided into two stages: the strain-releasees stage and the collapse stage. The two stages are described by two different differential equations. The results obtained from existing experimental studies and numerical models are compared with those obtained by the method proposed in this paper. The method proposed in this paper can predict the collapse process of air-supported structures at different scales. Finally, the sensitivity analysis was used to research the relation between collapse time and leakage area, collapse pressure difference and temperature.