Mechanical behavior of a shelter system based on cable-strut structures

A shelter system based on cable-strut structures, consisting of compressive struts and high-tensile elements, is de- scribed in this paper. The deployment of the shelter is achieved by tightening inclined cables. Lower cables are used to terminate the deployment. The state of self-stress of the cable-strut structures in the fully deployed configuration is given, and the minimum strut length and the maximum load design of the shelter are discussed. The mechanical behavior of the system was studied under symmetrical and asymmetrical load cases. The results show that the shelter in the deployed configuration satisfies the ultimate limit and the serviceability limit state conditions. Finally, the stability of the cable-strut system is investigated, considering the effect of imperfections on the buckling of the shelter. We conclude that the influence of imperfections based on the consistent imperfection mode method is not significant.