Rankine’s Theorem for the design of cable structures

This paper presents a methodology based on Rankine’s Theorem for form-finding of cable-supported structures. The procedure involves linear equations and helps designers quickly identify the optimal cable layout for a given problem. The use of graphics statics provides powerful insight in the design with the visualization of the forces in the structure and allows control of a number of parameters which can be tuned for the problem at hand. An optimization routine is paired with the method proposed in this paper to identify cable nets of maximum stiffness. A detailed example of form-finding of a cable net is given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology for a cable-stayed canopy of a high-rise building that is currently under-construction. Examples of applications to other type of structures are also included.