Buckling Analysis of a Long-Span Roof Structure Collapsed during Construction
Publication: Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities
Volume 27, Issue 1
Abstract
Numerical simulation of damage and collapse mechanisms suffered by engineering structures can be an effective tool for a quantitative assessment of their causes. Large displacement inelastic analysis may be required in the case of highly flexible structures, such as steel roofs, which frequently experience large failures or even collapse because of buckling. This paper discusses the collapse of a long-span steel roof structure, which fell down suddenly during construction as a result of an out-of-plane buckling phenomenon induced by a gust of wind. Forensic investigations were carried out on behalf of the judicial authority to identify the causes of the accident. Based on detailed information gathered from site surveys and project documents, a three-dimensional numerical model of the as-built structure was created, and buckling analyses were performed to assess the safety level at the moment of the collapse. The as-built structure was braced through some purlins and steel cables fixed at the ground level. Structural stability was also investigated under further modeling assumptions to compare the effectiveness of several bracing systems in preventing the collapse. Analysis results showed that the as-built structure was in an unstable equilibrium condition when the wind breeze occurred. Temporary bracing elements installed on the structure instead of concentric roof braces were not sufficient to ensure the overall stability.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Adam, J., and Pallares, F. J. (2010). “Learning from structural failures – Editorial.” Eng. Struct., 32(7), 1791.
ASCE. (2000).“Prestandard and commentary for the seismic rehabilitation of buildings.” FEMA 356, Reston, VA.
ASTM. (2008).“Standard test methods and definitions for mechanical testing of steel products.” ASTM A 370-08A, West Conshohocken, PA.
Bathe, K. J. (1982). Finite element procedures in engineering analysis, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Bathe, K. J., and Wilson, E. L. (1976). Numerical methods in finite element analysis, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Bazant, Z. P., and Cedolin, L. (1991). Stability of structures, Oxford University Press, New York.
Blandford, G. (1996a). “Large deformation analysis of inelastic space truss structures.” J. Struct. Eng., 122(4), 407–415.
Blandford, G. (1996b). “Progressive failure analysis of inelastic space truss structures.” Comput. Struct., 58(5), 981–990.
Box, M. J., Davies, D., and Swann, W. H. (1969). Non-linear optimization techniques, Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh, U.K.
Brencich, A. (2010). “Collapse of an industrial steel shed: A case study for basic errors in computational structural engineering and control procedures.” Eng. Fail. Anal., 17(1), 213–225.
Cescotto, S., Frey, F., and Fonder, G. (1979). “Total and updated Lagrangian descriptions in nonlinear structural analysis: A unified approach.” Energy methods in finite element analysis, R. Glowinsky, E. Y. Rodin, and O. C. Zienkiewicz, eds., Wiley, New York, 283–296.
Crisfield, M. A. (1983). “An arc-length method including line searches and accelerations.” Int. J. Numer. Methods Eng., 19(9), 1269–1289.
de Freitas, J. A. T., and Ribei, A. C. B. S. (1992). “Large displacement elastoplastic analysis of space trusses.” Comput. Struct., 44(5), 1007–1016.
del Coz Díaz, J. J., García Nieto, P. J., Lozano Martínez-Luengas, A., and Suárez Sierra, J. L. (2010a). “A study of the collapse of a WWII communications antenna using numerical simulations based on design of experiments by FEM.” Eng. Struct., 32(7), 1792–1800.
del Coz Díaz, J. J., García Nieto, P. J., Vilán Vilán, J. A., and Suárez Sierra, J. L. (2010b). “Non-linear buckling analysis of a self-weighted metallic roof by FEM.” Math. Comput. Model., 51(3–4), 216–228.
European Committee for Standardization (CEN). (2005). “Design of steel structures.” Eurocode 3, Brussels.
Feld, J., and Carper, K. L. (1997). Construction failure, Wiley, New York.
Hill, C. D., Blandford, G. E., and Wang, S. T. (1989). “Post-buckling analysis of steel space trusses.” J. Struct. Eng., 115(4), 900–919.
Italian Department of Civil Protection. (2003). “D.C.D.P.C. 21.10.2003, n. 3685: Disposizioni attuative dell’art. 2, commi 2, 3 e 4, dell’ordinanza del Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri n. 3274 del 20 marzo 2003, recante Primi elementi in materia di criteri generali per la classificazione sismica del territorio nazionale e di normative tecniche per le costruzioni in zona sismica.” D.C.D.P.C. 21.10.2003, n. 3685, Italian Dept. of Civil Protection, Rome (in Italian).
Italian Ministry of Infrastructures and Transportation. (2008).“Norme tecniche per le costruzioni.” D.M. 14.01.2008, Rome (in Italian).
Martin, R., and Delatte, N. J. (2001). “Another look at Hartford Civic Center Coliseum collapse.” J. Perform. Constr. Facil., 15(1), 31–36.
Papadrakakis, M. (1983). “Inelastic post-buckling analysis of trusses.” J. Struct. Eng., 109(9), 2129–2147.
Raithel, A., Augenti, N., and Nicolosi, G. (1989). Equilibrio e stabilità delle strutture elastiche, Edizioni Scientifiche A. Cremonese, Rome (in Italian).
Ramesh, G., and Krishnamoorthy, C. S. (1994). “Inelastic post-buckling analysis of truss structures by dynamic relaxation method.” Int. J. Numer. Methods Eng., 37(21), 3633–3657.
SAP2000 14.2.0 Advanced [Computer software]. Berkeley, CA, Computers and Structures, Inc.
Thai, H.-T., and Kim, S.-E. (2009). “Large deflection inelastic analysis of space trusses using generalized displacement control method.” J. Construct. Steel Res., 65(10–11), 1987–1994.
Yang, Y. B., and Leu, L.-J. (1990). “Postbuckling analysis of trusses with various Lagrangian formulations.” AIAA J., 28(5), 946–948.
Yang, Y. B., and Shieh, M. S. (1990). “Solution method for nonlinear problems with multiple critical points.” AIAA J., 28(12), 2110–2116.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jul 30, 2011
Accepted: Oct 14, 2011
Published online: Oct 18, 2011
Published in print: Feb 1, 2013
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.