A Study of the Effects of Joint Type on the Performance of Stadia Dome Roofs

Abstract

In this study, the linear analysis of stadia dome roofs using the finite element method was carried out considering the joints to be pinned, semi-rigid, or rigid. The straight space frame finite element was selected to represent the roof and the formulation of element stiffness matrix and nodal load vector in space was carried. SAP2000-16 Structural Analysis program was used to analyze and design five types of roofs. These were Flat roof, Ascending roof towards the field, Curved roof, Circular arc roof, and Circular dome roof. The results obtained for pin-jointed frames neglecting self-weight were compared with published results. The comparison shows good agreement with high accuracy not less than 99.66%. The results of the analysis and the design after adding the self weight of the dome were obtained for pinned, semi-rigid, and rigid joints. These results were analyzed and compared with each other considering the dome fitness for purpose as the major factor. This was done with the aim of studying the effect of joint type on the dome performance. The comparison shows that semi-rigid joints give better results compared with pinned and rigid joints.