Design of a prestressed membrane structure

This graduation thesis presents a prestressed membrane project, i.e. a proposed canopy over a place for socializing behind the building of the Faculty for Civil and Geodetic Engineering, University of Ljubljana. In the introductory part, the fundamental principles of this kind of structures are briefly discussed, followed by basic forms and some examples. Woven technical textiles are also described and the entire process of designing is outlined,\ud from form-finding and analysis to panelling. The thesis continues with a presentation of computer software which is used in the process of the project design. In the first phase of the designing process five outline plans are created. For all of the designs, either the form of a saddle or a cone shape, two of the most basic forms of prestressed membranes, is chosen. Furthermore, the location of the structure is precisely described, followed by the description of the materials, the details of the construction, the supporting structure selection, and the installation process. The cost estimation of each of the discussed structures is carried out. In the next chapter, the non-linear static analysis of the two selected plans is performed and concluded that there are no significant deviations from the predicted responses of the models. Finally, in the last part of the thesis, the most suitable one from the discussed structures is chosen, on which an extensive analysis and designing is carried out, and the panel plans are presented