Elastic ultimate capacity of Kiewitt suspen dome

As one new type structural form, a suspen dome can not only improve effectively the global stiffness and stability of single layer dome, but also make the control of construction process much more easier. The behavior of the suspen dome is theoretically investigated by employing a nonlinear finite element method in this study. Structural par ameters of the suspen dome, such as heights of struts, sectional areas of cables, prestresses of cables, the number of cable rings, which influence the structural ultimate load carrying capacity, have been analyzed by employing a computational model of the Kiewitt suspen dome of 40m span. Some valuable conclusions are drawn for practical design.