Numerical method for the undamped forced dynamics of steel cable network structures

Steel cable network structures are characterized by strong geometric nonlinearities and high flexibility, which are the main causes of their unexpected behavior, especially under dynamic loading conditions (Levy and Spillers 1995). Excluding cable-stayed and cable-suspended structural systems as well as low-tension cable nets, the majority of static and dynamic analysis techniques used are approximate and complex in nature, while their approaches differ significantly. There are five widely accepted methodologies dealing with the foregoing structural systems, with their salient features summarized in the work of Kwan (1998), while combinations, variations and extensions of these, taking into account numerous parameters, such as slackening, friction, pre-stress etc., have also been reported (Goslin and Korban 2001, Kanno et al. 2002, Kanno and Ohsaki 2005, Talvik 2001, Volokh et al. 2003, and others not cited herein). To this end, in the present study a numerical technique for the undamped dynamics of cable networks is proposed, in which pretension of cable elements, uniform time dependent temperature change as well as flexibility and temporal dependence of boundary conditions are accounted for. Applications of the method produce results in very good agreement with existing ones and important conclusions for structural design purposes are drawn.