Tensile Membranes in Long Span Stadium Canopy Structures
Tensile membrane structures contribute to aesthetic free-form canopy designs. These custom-made tension fabric structures are engineered and fabricated to meet complex structural, architectural and environmental conditions. Tensile membrane structures have unique difficulties that have made them resistant to classical methods of design and analysis. Typically structures exhibit both geometric non-linearity due to large deflections in addition to material non-linearity. The initial prestress of the membrane and its supporting components is an internal stress condition that dictactes the stiffness of the structure. Form finding techniques are needed to study membrane forms, the geometry and stress conditions of the membrane surface.This presentation will address the challenge of designing tensile membrane structures through use of two examples.
The first example is the 2002 World Cup Football Stadium built in Seoul, Korea. Geiger Engineers was responsible for the stadium’s 44,070 m2 (474,412 ft2) roof canopy. The canopy is a unique spatial network of truss members suspended from 16 masts. The canopy structure is clad with a prestressed tensile membrane of PTFE coated fiberglass fabric and polycarbonate glazing resulting in the entire roof being either translucent or transparent. The second example is the Icahn Stadium, Randall’s Island, New York, NY: a new 5000 seat facility. Geiger Engineers was responsible for the lightweight tensile structure canopy that covers the seating grand stand.
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Conférencier pour cet événement
David Campbell began working with Geiger Associates in 1979 and was made an Associate and head of the Vancouver Office in 1982. He is one of the founding principals of Geiger Engineers and has managed the firm as its Chief Executive Officer since its beginning. In his twenty six years of engineering practice, he has had a significant role in over 25 large spectator sports facilities, including four domed stadia.
He is a member of IASS, a member of the ASCE Special Structures Committee as well as a member of the Stadium Managers Association and the Entertainment Services and Technology Association. David has authored numerous technical papers on long-span and sports facility structures.