Article,
ON THE STATIC ANALYSIS OF STRUCTURES WITH STRONG GEOMETRIC NONLINEARITY
(1979)
Abstract
Highly flexible structures, such as cable systems or inflatable shells, derive their ability to support
their own weight and other loads from some secondary loading (e.g., pretensioning or pressurization). These
structures can have very strong geometric nonlinearities when this secondary loading is small. This makes the
determination of the initial static shape of such structures very difficult. Various methods for calculating the
initial static shape arc reviewed and their deficiencies noted. A novel iterative solution method is then
presented which is based on a viscous relaxation concept. The procedure is shown to be highly stable with
strong geometric nonlinearities. Its performance is demonstrated by comparisons with other methods on a
simple cable system.
