LONG SPAN STRUCTURES –

Buildings that create unobstructed, column-free spaces

greater than 30 m (100 feet) for a variety of functions /
activities

IMPORTANT FACTORS:
• visibility for auditoriums and covered stadiums
• flexibility for exhibition halls and certain type of
manufacturing facilities

Indira Gandhi stadium, Delhi

MATERIALS USED FOR LONG-SPAN STRUCTURES

STRUCTURE-

• All reinforced concrete (RC) including precast

• All metal (e.g. mild-steel, structural steel, stainless METAL+RC METAL TIMBER RCC LAMINATED
PLASTIC FABRIC
steel or alloyed aluminum) TIMBER
• All timber
• Metal + RC (combined)

SKIN – ETFE
(polymeric
• All reinforced concrete (RC) including precast membrane)
• Plastic coated textile material (fabric) –for roofing /
cladding
• Fiber reinforced plastic –for roofing / cladding
• Laminated timber PTFE
STRUCTURE SKIN
• Each of previous materials is applicable up to a certain
value of the (long) span.
• Steel is the MAJOR material for long-span structures,
allowing for the maximum spans to be reached.
• The frequent use of steel is due to its advantages: i.e. Bubble diagram showing use of materials
light weight, high strength-to-weight ratio, ease of
fabrication, ease of erection and convenient cost. Source: (Georgescu, 2017)

GROUP MEMBERS-
STADIUM ROOFING TECHNOLOGY ADITI, JASMINE, TAGE, VISHESH
 NEW METHOD OF CLASSIFICATION PROPOSED BY GEORGESCU
• Built on the basic structural elements composing the structure (i.e.
plate/shell, beam, bar, cable, membrane) versus structural rigidity of
the structures
(rigid=solid wireframes, flexible= dotted wireframes, rigid-flexible =
combined dotted and solid wireframes)
• Practical method
• Related to the calculation method and computer analysis of the
space structure
• Allowing for new structural types to be included anytime in the
future

TRADITIONAL CLASSIFICATION FOR LONG SPAN SPACE STRUCTURES MODERN CLASSIFICATION FOR LONG SPAN SPACE STRUCTURES

MODERN FLEXIBLE SPACE STRUCTURES

• Pneumatic membrane structures including:

-air-inflated membrane structures
-air-supported membrane structures
• Membrane structures with rigid or flexible steel supports

AIR-SUPPORTED MEMBRANE STRUCTURE

Source: (Georgescu, 2017)

GROUP MEMBERS-
STADIUM ROOFING TECHNOLOGY ADITI, JASMINE, TAGE, VISHESH
BEIJING OLYMPIC STADIUM, BEIJING (BIRD’S NEST) –
CAPACITY: 91,000 – (after 5 years of construction, opened in June, 2008)
CONSTRUCTION PROCESS

I. CONCRETE
BOWLCONSTRUCTION:
Concrete pumped to
heights and poured inside
the reinforcement for bowl
MEMBRANE + RIGID STRUCTURE (was needed to be done
before winters) –
LONGER SPAN-330 m completed in 5 months.
(thick rebars are difficult to
SHORTER SPAN-220 m handle)

HEIGHT- 69 m
2. STEEL STRUCTURE:
MATERIALS- STEEL (44,000 tonnes) +
• First set of beams were on the
INFLATABLE ETFE (ethylene tetra
outside which was then
fluoroethylene)
covered by 24 pillars .
• These pillars serve as the
CONCEPT- Bird’s nest not only bones of the structure.
- The skeleton is on the
aesthetically but also structurally.

CHALLENGE- Needs to be earthquake outside which is also the

24 PILLARS IN THE FORM OF
proof building’s facade
TRUSSES
SOLUTION- Steel frame as separate
structure without touching concrete
bowl. they also divided the bowl into 6-
isolated sections with a large gap 3. The second set of beams fills
between them. in the space between beams
and the first set. They link all the
beams to form a braided
Beijing is a strong seismic activity zone in structure.
the continental area of eastern China.
1668 earthquake in Shandong Tancheng - the third set of beams
8.5, the Bohai Sea in 1969
supports the stairway that
7.4 earthquake in 1974 Haicheng 7.4
earthquake occurred in the earthquake BEAMS CONNECTING PILLARS provide access to all levels
zone, according to records, the band AND SPACE FRAME and provide the membrane
occurred a total of more than for the roof covering.
60 earthquake 4.7 times.

GROUP MEMBERS-
STADIUM ROOFING TECHNOLOGY ADITI, JASMINE, TAGE, VISHESH
 AIR-SUPPORTED MEMBRANE STRUCTURES

• The pressure inside the air-supported membrane structure is relatively low (only 1,003 standard atmospheres) so that people can live inside the structures
• Membrane material = fabric substrate + coating (mainly PVC and PTFE= poly-tetra-fluoro-ethylene)
• Membrane material suitable for use as air cushions is a type of polymeric material (that does NOT include a fabric substrate) such as ETFE (=ethylene tetra-
fluoro-ethylene)
• Basic requirements for membrane materials: strength, light transmission, self cleaning capacity and fire resistance

HUBERT H. HUMPHREY METRODOME

• SPAN – 250m
• An air supported structure supported by positive air pressure.
• It required 250,000 cubic feet per minute (120 cubic m per second)
to keep it inflated.
• Air pressure was supplied by twenty 90hp (67 kW ) fans.
• The stadium had a fiberglass fabric roof that was self-supported by
air pressure and was the third major sports facility to have this
feature.
• The inflatable roof over the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome was
made from ten (10) acres of fabric, weighing approximately
580,000 pounds.
• During winter months, warm air circulated between the layers to
Fiber glass fabric roof
help melt snow on the roof.

POLYHEDRON SPACE FRAME STRUCTURES

• Completely new structural system.
• A fundamental cell composition consists of two12-sided
polyhedron cells and six 14-sided polyhedron cells
• The intersecting lines of the polyhedron over the cutting surfaces
are the chord members of the roof and wall structures Polyhedron space frame
Polyhedron cell Polyhedron assembly
• The remaining boundary lines are the interior web members. structure

GROUP MEMBERS-
STADIUM ROOFING TECHNOLOGY ADITI, JASMINE, TAGE, VISHESH
BEIJING NATIONAL AQUATICS CENTER

• National Aquatic Center “Water Cube” for the Beijing 2008

Olympic Games
• First polyhedron space frame structure in the world
• Plane dimensions 177 m x 177 m
• Gross Floor Area: 90000m2
• Height 30 m
• Surface members of rectangular steel tubes to
accommodate the ETFE cladding cushions with drum-type
hollow joints
• Interior members of circular steel tubes with normal hollow
spherical joints

CONCEPT-
• Shaped as a cube to symbolize earth
• Covered with “bubbles” to symbolize water
DRUM JOINT
• rThe geometry of building is based on Phelan-Weaire Phelan-Weaire Polyhedral Array geometry
Polyhedral Array
STRUCTURAL FORM-
• 176m * 176m * 29m
• 3D Vierendeel space frame
• All walls are approximately 3.6m thick and the roof zone 7.2m
deep

STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS-
SECTION
STRUCTURE - 3D Vierendeel space frame
• The final structure is comprised of 22,000 tubular steel members
connected by 12,000 nodes
• Repetitive geometric polyhedrons
• Ductile structure to deal with the seismic conditions found in
Beijing
SKIN -
• Ethylene Tetra Fluoro Ethylene (ETFE) foil cushions that form the
cladding
• The large cushions are actually in three layers (outer, middle
and inner), with their contained air pressurised to 200pa, giving
an effect similar to a cavity wall structural details Ethylene Tetra Fluoro Ethylene (ETFE)

GROUP MEMBERS-
STADIUM ROOFING TECHNOLOGY ADITI, JASMINE, TAGE, VISHESH
 OPEN-WEB LATTICED SHELL STRUCTURES THE ROOF OF THE NATIONAL GRAND THEATER IN BEIJING

• Usually composed of beam elements (no

diagonals) • Roof span – 144 m
• Some systems however use diagonals • Ellipsoidal shell
• The latticed shell with a curved surface • Overall plan size of 146m x
evolved from the planar open-web truss. 212 m
• Most latticed shells are two-way orthogonal • Height of 46 m
or diagonal • Longest span open-web
• Joints in upper and bottom chord are usually latticed-shell in the world
connected with five members. • Roof composed of 144
radial open-web arches +
circumferential steel tubes
ADVANTAGES • Four groups of large cross-
• Improve the structural behavior bracings improve the
• Reduce material consumption torsion resistance and
• Provide enough space for a mechanical floor stability of the structure
The national grand theater in Beijing

PARTIAL DOUBLE-LAYER LATTICE SHELLS CANOPY ROOF OF HANGZHOU OLYMPIC STADIUM

• Composed of single-layer lattice shell + double-layer lattice shell + linking • Looks like a flower with many petals
structure with bar and beam elements. • The petals are designed as double-layer
• The parts of the structures that mainly resist bending forces are designed lattice shells
as double-layer lattice shells. • The parts among the petals are designed
• The parts of the structure that mainly resist membrane forces are designed as single-layer lattice shells.
as single layer lattice shells

• Structural configurations:

1. For a structure that needs to set up a skylight or an air vent, a double

layer lattice shell with a point-type (local) single-layer shell can be
designed.
2. Spatial trusses may be set-up to strengthen a single layer lattice shell and
to form a partial double-layer lattice shell with partitions.

Source: (Georgescu, 2017)

GROUP MEMBERS-
STADIUM ROOFING TECHNOLOGY ADITI, JASMINE, TAGE, VISHESH