Analysis of key elements of single-layer dome structures against progressive collapse

The analysis of the progressive collapse resistance of structures is a well-known issue among structural engineers. Large-span reticulated dome structures are commonly utilized in large public buildings, necessitating research into their progressive collapse resistance to assure user safety. The most significant part of improving the structural resilience of reticulated domes is to evaluate their key elements. Based on a stiffness-based evaluation approach, this work offers a calculating procedure for element importance coefficient. For both original and damaged structures, evaluations are carried out using the global stiffness matrix and the determinant. The Kiewitt, Schwedler, and Sunflower reticulated domes are investigated to explore the distribution characteristic of element importance coefficients in the single-layer dome structures. Moreover, the influence of the load levels, load distributions, geometric parameters and topological features are also discussed. The results can be regarded as the initial concept design reference for single-layer reticulated domes.