Computers and Structures 125 (2013) 11–22

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Computers and Structures

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/compstruc

Time-dependent analysis of cable domes using a modified dynamic

relaxation method and creep theory
Stanislav Kmet ⇑, Marek Mojdis
Technical University of Kosice, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Institute of Structural Engineering, Vysokoskolska 4, Kosice, Slovakia

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The stiffness of cable domes is conditioned by their states of prestress. The decrease of prestress due to
Received 18 December 2012 creep of cables determines the serviceability and load bearing capacity of the cable dome. In this paper, a
Accepted 20 April 2013 modified dynamic relaxation method for a time-dependent non-linear static analysis of cable domes
Available online 26 May 2013
based on the application of creep theory is presented. Creep constitutive equations in logarithmic forms
are directly used for the adjustment of cable lengths. The applicability of the modified dynamic relaxation
Keywords: method to this type of structures composed of steel and synthetic cables and struts with a finite element
Dynamic relaxation method
idealisation is demonstrated.
Time-dependent analysis
Cable domes
Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Steel cable
Synthetic cable
Creep

1. Introduction dome could fail. That is why a time-dependent structural analysis

Cable domes are lightweight spatial pre-stressed structures that
are increasingly investigated as structural solutions for large-span
roof systems. The cable dome structures first proposed by Geiger
et al. [1] have been developed in recent years due to their innova-
tive forms, lightweight and deployability [2]. They belong to a class
of pre-stressed pin-jointed systems that cannot be stable without
introducing prestresses to some members [3].
Yuan and Dong [4] present a good insight into the behaviour of
cable domes through nonlinear analysis and optimum design.
Introducing a prestress is very important to a cable dome, because
it has no initial rigidity prior to prestress. The stiffness of cable do-
mes is conditioned by their states of prestress. The level of pre-
stress will not only affect the geometric configuration, but also
determine the serviceability and load bearing capacity of the cable
dome. In other words, the prestress should provide the dome en-
ough stiffness to assure that all cables will not slacken under an ap-
plied external load. Additionally, the lower the prestress level is,
the better the design is because high prestress levels will lead to
large forces acting back on the boundary ring, which increases
the difficulty of construction and decreases the economical effi-
ciency of such structures.
If cables slacken or struts become overstressed at a certain pre-
stress level or a certain action effects (i.e. certain load case), the
⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +421 55 602 2121; fax: +421 55 6332748.
E-mail address: stanislav.kmet@tuke.sk (S. Kmet).
in order to verify the required prestress level of the structure antic-
ipated during its design lifetime is needed.
Yuan and Dong [5] proposed the concept of feasible integral
prestress modes considering the inherent geometric symmetry of
cable domes. However, the proposed concept is effective only for
domes with a single integral prestress mode, and cannot be applied
to a dome with multiple feasible integral prestress modes. There-
fore, authors in [6] established a general method to determine
the distribution of initial prestresses for different types of cable
domes.
Experiences with a number of cable structures constructed of
steel wire ropes or synthetic fibre ropes have shown that their pos-
sible failure is characterised by the time-dependent changes in the
tension stiffness and consequently by excessive deflections of
structures due to the increments of cable member lengths sub-
jected to creep [7]. Thus it is necessary to be precise in prediction
of creep strains as the size of creep strains can significantly influ-
ences total deformations of cables and consequently, the actual
behaviour of cable structures, too. Therefore an improvement in
the prediction of time-dependent behaviour of cable domes due
to creep effects is the scope of the present paper in which we de-
scribe a possible application of a modified dynamic relaxation
method as an effective tool for the time-dependent analysis of
these types of structures.
Parallel-lay ropes, made from synthetic materials, are increas-
ingly being used for structural applications as pre-stressing ten-
dons and tension members in the civil engineering industry.
Parallel-lay aramid ropes have been identified as an attractive

0045-7949/$ - see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compstruc.2013.04.019
12 S. Kmet, M. Mojdis / Computers and Structures 125 (2013) 11–22
material for use in pre-stressed concrete structures and cable
stayed and suspension cable structures. It is clear that for the anal-
ysis and reliability assessment of these structures, an accurate pre-
diction of material rheological properties is highly desirable, as
long-term pre-stressing is required and variable load effects are ex-
pected. The ability to predict the creep of the ropes under varying
stresses is therefore very important, since the ropes are made from
materials which exhibit rheological behaviour [8–10].
The dynamic relaxation method proposed by Day [11] is an ex-
plicit iterative method for the static solution of structural-mechan-
ics problems [12]. The method is very popular and has been
improved and applied by many researchers to solve a variety of
engineering tasks. The dynamic relaxation method has been re-
searched and applied by Barnes [13,14], Lewis et al. [15], Wakefield
[16], Topping and Khan [17], Lewis [18], Topping and Ivanyi [19],
Domer et al. [20], Douthe and Baverel [21], Rezaiee-Pajand et al.
[22] and others. The mathematical basis of the method was dis-
cussed by Papadrakakis [23] and Underwood [12]. Lewis et al.
[15] analysed the non-linear static response of pretensioned cable
roofs using a non-linear energy approach. Dynamic relaxation pre-
sents itself as an attractive approach to the design of prestressed
cable networks because both form-finding and analysis can be car-
ried out within a relatively single analytical framework. The tech-
nique traces the fictitious motion of the structure from the point of
loading to the final steady equilibrium state (minimum energy)
through the use of D’Alembert’s principle [24]. Furthermore,
Barnes [13,14] showed that dynamic relaxation is particularly effi-
cient for form-finding and analysis of tension structures.
Wood [25] presented a simple technique for controlling mesh
distortion during the form-finding of membranes when using dy-
namic relaxation. Han and Lee [26] studied the stabilizing process
of unstable structures by applying the dynamic relaxation method.
Lee et al. [27] used the simple explicit cylindrical arc-length meth-
od to trace the post-buckling equilibrium path of the structures by
combining the dynamic relaxation method with the kinetic damp-
ing technique. Rezaiee-Pajand and Sarafrazi [28] proposed an alter-
native procedure for the common dynamic relaxation method,
which can be applied to the dynamic problems. Alamatian [29]
presented a new formulation for the fictitious mass of the dynamic
relaxation method with kinetic damping. Zhang et al. [30] pre-
sented the form-finding of non-regular tensegrity structures with
a numerical approach based on the dynamic relaxation method
with kinetic damping. New tensegrity configurations that exhibit
more intricate and creative forms can be obtained by this method.
A review of computational methods for tension structures can
be found in [19]. When the dynamic relaxation method is used,
the static problem is transformed into a pseudo-dynamic one by
introducing fictitious inertia and damping terms in the equation
of motion. Dynamic relaxation traces the motion of each node of
a structure until, due to artificial damping, the structure comes
to rest in static equilibrium. One of the advantages of this method
is that the global stiffness matrix is not needed and hence, the
method is particularly suitable for problems with material and
geometrical nonlinearities. Bel Hadj Ali et al. [31] presented a mod-
ified dynamic relaxation algorithm for static analysis and form-
finding of clustered tensegrity structures. Kadkhodayan et al. [32]
developed an improved dynamic relaxation method by introducing
a modified fictitious time increment.
In this paper, a modified dynamic relaxation method for a time-
dependent non-linear static analysis of cable domes based on the
application of creep theory is presented. The method is extended
to directly analyse rheological changes of cable domes due to creep
effects of cables. Creep constitutive equations in logarithmic forms,
for the adjustment of cable lengths, are used directly. The applica-
bility of the modified dynamic relaxation with kinetic damping to
this type of structures composed of steel and synthetic cables and
struts with a finite element idealisation is demonstrated.
2. Formulation of the modified dynamic relaxation method
suitable for time-dependent analyses
The dynamic relaxation method is an iterative pseudo-dynamic
technique for tracing the motion of a structure from the time of
loading to when it reaches a position of equilibrium arising from
the effects of damping [19].
The dynamic relaxation method is an attractive approach for
the design of pre-stressed cable domes because both form-finding
and analysis can be carried out within a single analytical
framework.
This section describes an overview of the basic governing equa-
tions of this method with proposing the necessary modifications to
the dynamic relaxation algorithm when applied to a time-depen-
dent analysis of cable domes that are idealised using finite
elements.
2.1. Governing equations
At any time t the residual force Rtix in the x coordinate direction
at node i, as the difference between external and internal forces in
the corresponding direction, is expressed as
Rtix ¼ Mix v_ tix þ C ix v tix ð1Þ
where Mix is the fictitious mass at node i in the x direction, Cix is the
viscous damping factor for node i in the x direction, v tix is the veloc-
ity at time t in the x direction at node i and v_ tix is the acceleration at
time t in the x direction at node i. The governing equations of the
dynamic relaxation method are presented for a system with one de-
gree of freedom.
Due to damping, nodal velocities and accelerations decay to
zero as the solution is approached. The static equilibrium is thus
attained and the residual forces come to zero.
Let us introduce into Eq. (1) time s which characterises current
parameters of the structure depending on the creep strain incre-
ments in the cable members at the investigated discrete times sk
for k ¼ 1; 2; . . . ; K and consequently, Eq. (1) is rewritten as
Rtix ðsk Þ ¼ M ix ðsk Þv_ tix ðsk Þ þ C ix ðsk Þv tix ðsk Þ ð2Þ
Individual terms in Eq. (2) are expressed as time-dependent on cur-
rent creep strain increments of cables, hence on current cable
lengths at investigated times sk while time t characterises the time
of the iteration process.
In the dynamic relaxation method, the maximum kinetic energy
peak through the calculation of consecutive nodal velocities at
each time increment is chosen as a new reference state. The anal-
ysis traces the behaviour of the structure at a series of points in
time t; t þ Dt; t þ 2Dt; . . . etc. By considering that the nodal velocity
varies linearly with time and the acceleration is assumed constant
over the time step Dt (small time interval) Eq. (2) can be re-ar-
ranged to give the recurrence equation for the nodal velocity at
the new time step (t + Dt/2) from the velocity of the previous time
step (t  Dt/2)
 
M ix ðsk Þ=Dt  C ix ðsk Þ=2
v ixtþDt=2 ðsk Þ ¼ v ixtDt=2 ðsk Þ
M ix ðsk Þ=Dt þ C ix ðsk Þ=2
 
1
þ Rtix ðsk Þ ð3Þ
Mix ðsk Þ=Dt þ C ix ðsk Þ=2
The velocities given by Eq. (3) are then used to predict the new
coordinates (the current geometry) at times t + Dt and sk are given
by
 S. Kmet, M. Mojdis / Computers and Structures 125 (2013) 11–22 13

Fig. 1. Typical creep curves (creep strains ec(sk) versus time sk) of the ropes: (a) parallel-lay aramid ropes and (b) spiral strand ropes.

chosen value of the time increment Dt convergence usually may

Table 1 be assured by using fictitious masses defined at time sk in the fol-
The coefficients a(r), b(r) and c(r) for the required stress levels of the
logarithmic-exponential creep constitutive equation of the steel cable.
lowing form

% rult a(r) b(r) c(r) k Dt 2

(%) () () () Mix ðsk Þ ¼ Six ðsk Þ ð7Þ
2
25 0.226 3257.647 0.000862
30 0.280 2511.556 0.00413 where k is the convergence parameter which is constant for the
35 0.337 1999.831 0.00833 whole structure and Six(sk) is the maximum axial stiffness of the i
40 0.397 1621.747 0.0135 node in the x direction at time sk. So called ‘‘nodal stiffness’’ is asso-
45 0.460 1322.790 0.0196 ciated with the stiffness of members n ¼ 1; 2; . . . ; N connected to
50 0.527 1065.143 0.0267
55 0.757 1339.503 0.0620
node i. For cable or strut members stiffness Stix ðsk Þ at times t and
60 1.021 1866.129 0.1030 sk is defined as
!
X
N
E n An T tn ðsk Þ
Stix ð k Þ
s ¼ 0
þ t ð8Þ
tþDt=2 ln ðs0 Þ ln ð sk Þ
xitþDt ðsk Þ ¼ xti ðsk Þ þ Dt:v ix ðsk Þ ð4Þ n¼1
inode

0 0
Following these updated coordinates (Eq. (4)) the new length may where En An =ln ðs0 Þ is the elastic stiffness (ln ðs0 Þ corresponds to the
t
be calculated at times t + Dt and sk, and the current internal force initial unstrained length of the member) and T tn ðsk Þ=ln ðsk Þ is the
t
T ntþDt ðsk Þ in link element n, such as a cable or strut, is determined geometric stiffness. T n ðsk Þ is the current force in the member n
t
as follows and ln ðsk Þ is the current length of the member at times t and sk.
The number of parameters can be reduced with the use of ki-
En An  tþDt 0
 netic damping in the dynamic relaxation method which does not
T ntþDt ðsk Þ ¼ T 0n ðs0 Þ þ 0
l n ð s k Þ  ln ð s0 Þ ð5Þ require a viscous damping term and only the time increment and
ln ðs0 Þ
the fictitious nodal masses need be determined. The method of ki-
0 tþDt
where ln ðs0 Þ is the initial length of element, ln ðsk Þ is the current netic damping has been found to be stable and rapidly convergent
length of element at times t + Dt and sk, T 0n ðs0 Þ is the initial pre- when dealing with large displacements [23,17,14].
stress in the element, En is the elastic modulus of element n and When kinetic damping is employed, the viscous damping terms
An is the cross sectional area of element n. If T ntþDt ðsk Þ < 0 for the Cix(sk) in Eq. (3) are no longer needed. The velocity at node i at time
cable element, the force is compressive so T ntþDt ðsk Þ must be set step t + Dt/2 is written as
tþDt
equal to zero. Note, that current lengths ln ðsk Þ of the correspond- Dt
ing cable element (wire or synthetic cable) at discrete times sk, for v ixtþDt=2 ðsk Þ ¼ v ixtDt=2 ðsk Þ þ Rt ð sk Þ ð9Þ
M ix ðsk Þ ix
k ¼ 1; 2; . . . ; K, can be calculated according to Eqs. (15) and (17) as
will be defined in the next sections. Substituting Eqs. (7) into (9) the velocity then takes the form
The residual forces can thus be calculated at times t + Dt and sk.
For any node i, the residual force in x -direction Rix tþDt
ðsk Þ is calcu- 2Rtix ðsk Þ
v ixtþDt=2 ðsk Þ ¼ v ixtDt=2 ðsk Þ þ ð10Þ
lated as the sum of the external force Fext,ix and the x -component kDtSix ðsk Þ
of the resultant force induced by the contributions of the N mem- The kinetic energy at the time increment t + Dt/2 can be ex-
bers meeting at node i. Hence, the x -component of the residual pressed as
force at node i where member n connects node i to node j is given by
X
I
1
X
N tþDt
xj;n tþDt
ðsk Þ  xi;n ðsk Þ U ktþDt=2 ðsk Þ ¼ M ix ðsk Þðv ixtþDt=2 ðsk ÞÞ2 ð11Þ
RixtþDt ðsk Þ ¼ F ext;ix þ T ntþDt ðsk Þ ð6Þ i¼1
2
tþDt
n¼1 s
ln ð k Þ
If the current kinetic energy U ktþDt=2 ðsk Þ is found to be less than the
inode

Generally convergence and numerical stability of the solution previous value, an energy peak has been passed. Velocities are then
may be achieved by reducing the time interval or increasing the set to zero and nodal coordinates are set to xitDt=2 ðsk Þ when the en-
fictitious masses [19]. According to Barnes [14], for an arbitrarily ergy peak is assumed to have occurred. When the analysis is re-
14 S. Kmet, M. Mojdis / Computers and Structures 125 (2013) 11–22

Fig. 2. Layout, geometry and designation of members and nodes of the investigated cable dome: (a) sectional view, (b) axonometric view and (c) ground plan.

started the velocities at the midpoint of the first time step are given
by

Rtix ðsk Þ
v ixtþDt=2 ðsk Þ ¼ ð12Þ
kDtSix ðsk Þ

where the residual forces Rtix ðsk Þ are recalculated from the xt  Dt/
2
(sk) displacement position [19]. The process repeats until the
structure reaches a stable equilibrium state according to the speci-
fied criteria for residual forces and kinetic energy. Convergence is
assumed when the kinetic energy of the structure is smaller than
a defined value Uke

U k ð sk Þ 6 U ke ð13Þ
Fig. 3. Comparison of vertical deflections of 1–4 selected nodes of a cable dome
obtained by means of a proposed computational model based on the dynamic
relaxation method with those obtained by the closed-form solution according to and the residual forces of all the degrees of freedom are less than a
[35]. prescribed tolerance.
 S. Kmet, M. Mojdis / Computers and Structures 125 (2013) 11–22
Fig. 4. Comparison of internal forces obtained by (a) developed DDRMsau software
with those obtained by (b) the geometrically non-linear finite element method
when ANSYS software is used.
Fig. 5. Courses of axial forces N(sk) in the individual members of the cable dome with steel cables at investigated times sk: (a) ridge cables, (b) diagonal cables, (c) cable hoops
and (d) struts.
15
3. Description of the time-dependent computational model
A time-dependent computational model of geometrically non-
linear and materially linear pre-stressed cable domes with rheo-
logical properties is presented based on the application of the mod-
ified dynamic relaxation method and creep theory. The model with
a finite element idealisation of the cable domes was implemented
into the DDRMsau software developed by the authors. The software
was created in the MATLAB numerical computing environment
[33,34].
The pre-processor of input data and the graphical environment
that displays the results are part of the program. Graphical repre-
sentation of initial and resultant forms of the analysed structures,
overview of their deformations and internal forces through quanti-
tative colour schemes are outputs of the program.
3.1. Finite element modelling
Two-node rectilinear spatial elements with three degrees of
freedom at each node (displacements in the nodal x, y and z direc-
tions) marked as CABLE, STRUT and TRUSS elements in the
DDRMsau library were used for the analyses of cable domes. These
elements were used to model the tension cables and compressed
struts of cable domes. A CABLE or STRUT is a three-dimensional
spar element having the unique feature of a stiffness resulting in
a uniaxial tension-only or compression-only element, respectively.
TRUSS is both a tension and compression element. With the ten-
sion-only option, the stiffness is removed if the element goes into
compression (simulating a slack cable). This feature is useful for
cable applications where the entire cable is modelled with one ele-
ment. As in a pin-jointed structure, no bending stiffness is included
in either the tension-only or the compression-only element. Large
deflection capabilities are available for these elements. The mate-
16 S. Kmet, M. Mojdis / Computers and Structures 125 (2013) 11–22

Fig. 6. Courses of vertical displacements w(sk) of 1–4 selected nodes of the cable dome with steel cables at investigated times sk: (a) displacements only due to creep (without
initial displacements at time s0) and (b) comprehensive displacements (sum of initial displacements at time s0 and displacements due to creep at times sk).

Fig. 7. Courses of axial forces N(sk) in the individual members of the cable dome with synthetic cables at investigated times sk: (a) ridge cables, (b) diagonal cables, (c) cable
hoops and (d) struts.

rial model for the cables and struts is characterised by a linear
relationship between stresses and strains (material linearity),
hence Hooke’s law is valid for their behaviour in the elastic
range.
Boundary conditions are imposed by assigning large masses to
fixed joints at the supports of the structure.
geometry of a loaded structure analysed at initial time s0 is taken
as the reference configuration. The model enables the continuous
transfer of the current structural behaviour data during the re-
quired time period.
In the present computational model, explicit forms of creep
constitutive equations for cables considered in this study are used
and incorporated into the developed computational program.

3.2. Time-dependent analysis

For the time-dependent analysis of the cable dome, the time do-
main is divided into a discrete number of time steps sk for
k ¼ 1; 2; . . . ; K. At each time increment sk, the structure is analysed
under the external applied load and current imposed geometry,
specified by the cable lengths which originate from the creep con-
stitutive properties of the cables. In this approach, the deformed
3.3. Creep prediction and time-dependent length determination of
cables
In order to perform a time-dependent behaviour analysis of the
pre-stressed cable dome under long-term loads, special attention is
focused in this section on the characterisation of creep properties
and on the determination of time-dependent lengths of the cables
 S. Kmet, M. Mojdis / Computers and Structures 125 (2013) 11–22 17

Fig. 8. Courses of vertical displacements w(sk) of 1–4 selected nodes of the cable dome with synthetic cables at investigated times sk: (a) displacements only due to creep
(without initial displacements at time s0) and (b) comprehensive displacements (sum of initial displacements at time s0 and displacements due to creep at times sk).

Fig. 9. Comparison of axial forces N(sk) and comprehensive vertical displacements w(sk) in selected members and nodes of the dome formed from steel and synthetic cables
at investigated times sk: (a) ridge cable 1, (b) diagonal cable 5, (c) cable hoop 9, (d) strut 14 and (e) node 1.

used in this study. Steel spiral strand ropes and synthetic parallel- 3.3.1. Synthetic cables
lay aramid ropes are applied as structural tension members of the The creep tests of parallel-lay aramid ropes were carried out by
dome in further analyses. For that purpose, the creep constitutive Guimarães and Burgoyne [8] at Imperial College in London. The
equations of these cables are briefly described. specimens tested under constant load were 30000 N Type G Parafil
18 S. Kmet, M. Mojdis / Computers and Structures 125 (2013) 11–22
Fig. 10. Variation of typical characteristics of the dome formed from synthetic cables during the iteration process at investigated times sk: (a) kinetic energy of the node 1 and
(b) residual forces in the node 1.
ropes with a cross-sectional area of the yarn in the core of
15.28 mm2. The pre-tensioning load of the specimens was 60% of
the nominal breaking load of the ropes. The creep constitutive
equation for the determination of the creep strains ec(sk) at the
investigated time sk was obtained in the following logarithmic
form
ec ðsk Þ ¼ bðrÞ:106 log10 ðsk Þ
where the creep coefficient b(r) (creep rate parameter) depends on
the stress level r(s0). The units of time into Eq. (14) is necessarily in
seconds, thus the resultant ec(sk) is dimensionless
(e.g.1 day = 86400 s). The creep coefficients have the values
b(r) = 74; 91; 104 and 121 according to the stress levels corre-
sponding to 35%; 43.7%; 57.3% and 63.1% of the characteristic value
of the ultimate tensile strength of the rope ru = 2200 N mm2,
respectively. Typical creep curves (creep strains ec(sk) versus time
sk) of the parallel-lay aramid ropes are shown in Fig. 1a.
Consequently, the change of an initial length of the synthetic
cable member lc(s0) at time s0 into a current length lc(sk) at time
sk due to creep strain increments is expressed in the form
 
lc ðsk Þ ¼ lc ðs0 Þð1 þ ec ðsk ÞÞ ¼ lc ðs0 Þ 1 þ bðrÞ:106 log10 ðsk Þ :
3.3.2. Wire cables
The creep tests of steel wire ropes were carried out by Kmet and
Holickova [10] at the Technical University of Kosice. The specimens
tested under constant load were spiral strand ropes with a con-
struction 19 wires per strand with 12 outer wires and a diameter
of 16.0 mm. The pre-tensioning load of the initially pre-stretched
specimens with cross-sectional area of 148.1 mm2 was 70% of the
nominal breaking load of the ropes. The creep constitutive equa-
tion for the determination of the creep strains ec(sk) at the investi-
gated time sk was obtained in the following logarithmic-
exponential form
 
ð14Þ ec ðsk Þ ¼ ðaðrÞ þ cðrÞlnsk Þ 1  ebðrÞsk ð16Þ
where the creep coefficients a(r), b(r) and c(r) depend on the stress
level r(s0). These coefficients are for individual stress levels ex-
pressed as a percentage of the characteristic value of the ultimate
tensile strength of the rope ru = 1370 N mm2 given in Table 1.
The units of time sk of the constitutive equation are expressed in
days, thus the resultant ec(sk) is dimensionless. Typical creep curves
(creep strains ec(sk) versus time sk) of the spiral strand ropes are
shown in Fig. 1b.
Thus, a current length of the steel cable lc(sk) at time sk is ex-
pressed in the form
lc ðsk Þ ¼ lðs0 Þð1 þ ec ðsk ÞÞ
 
ð15Þ ¼ lðs0 Þ 1 þ ðaðrÞ þ cðrÞlnsk Þð1  ebðrÞsk Þ : ð17Þ
4. Numerical applications and discussions of results
In this section, numerical examples are presented and discussed
in order to show the efficiency of the proposed dynamic relaxation
procedure in predicting the time-dependent nonlinear response of
 S. Kmet, M. Mojdis / Computers and Structures 125 (2013) 11–22
Fig. 11. Variation of typical characteristics of the dome formed from synthetic cables during the iteration process at investigated times sk: (a) axial forces in the cable 1 and
(b) vertical positions of the node 1.
cable domes. The pre-programmed dynamic relaxation algorithm
is first verified through the analysis of a cable dome in which creep
effects are not considered.
4.1. Validation of the computational model
In order to verify the accuracy of the computational model and
the computer program developed in this study, solutions have
been generated for the structure previously examined by Wang
et al. [35]. Authors in [35] proposed a simple analytical approach
for the analysis of Geiger domes with a circular ground plan.
The structure analysed is a Geiger dome with a circular ground-
plan and a diameter of 100.0 m as is shown in Fig. 2. A Geiger dome
with an inner hoop is composed of 272 members, as are radial ridge
cables, radial diagonal cables, cable hoops and struts. There are 64
struts and 208 cables in this dome. The division number of the
dome in the circular direction is 16. The number of unconstrained
nodes is 128. The initial geometry, prestress, member properties,
and loading conditions used in this study are the same as those used
previously by Wang et al. [35]. The Young’s modulus of cables and
struts are Ec = 190000 N mm2 and Es = 206000 N mm2, respec-
tively. Layout and geometry as well as the designation of members
and nodes of the investigated cable dome are shown in Fig. 2.
A comparison of the obtained vertical deflections of the selected
nodes of the cable dome when the closed-form solution according
to [35] and proposed computational model based on the dynamic
relaxation method are applied is shown in Fig. 3. The largest differ-
ence is 1.27%, which indicates a very good agreement between the
19
responses obtained by individual approaches. A comparison of
internal forces obtained by the developed DDRMsau software with
those obtained by the geometrically non-linear finite element
method when the ANSYS software [36] is used, is shown in
Fig. 4. Results confirmed a very good agreement between individ-
ual approaches.
4.2. Time-dependent analysis of the cable dome
The problem is to investigate the response variation, i.e. the var-
iation of internal forces {F(sk)} and associated displacements
{w(sk)} of a cable dome at times s = 1; 10; 102; 103 and 104 days
due to the creep of cables against those obtained at the initial time
s0 = 0 days (reference response without creep effects) when the
vertical uniformly distributed load q = 1.0 N mm2 is applied over
the entire span of the structure.
The time-dependent analysis of cable domes by means of the
modified dynamic relaxation method can be accomplished accord-
ing to the following process:
(1) Perform the form-finding of the structure and define the ini-
tial prestress;
(2) Analyse the static behaviour of the dome subjected to an
external load q at initial time s0 with the creep of the cables
ignored;
(3) Determine the stresses r(s0) in the cable members obtained
on the basis of a static analysis of the dome at initial time s0
and assign to them the corresponding creep constitutive
20 S. Kmet, M. Mojdis / Computers and Structures 125 (2013) 11–22
Fig. 12. Variation of nodal vertical positions z of the dome formed from synthetic cables during the iteration process at investigated times sk: (a) node 1, (b) node 2, (c) node 3
and (d) node 4.
equations ec(sk) (Eqs. (14), (16)) with relevant coefficients for
adjustment of the cable lengths Lc(sk) due to corresponding
creep strain increments (Eqs. (15), (17));
(4) Perform the time-dependent analysis of the dome subjected
to an external load q with the current parameters at the
investigated times sk and check if the dome has enough stiff-
ness. If not, go back to (1) and redesign the initial pre-stress
level.
In the examples, 60% of the characteristic value of the ultimate
tensile strength ru = 1370 N mm2 and ru = 2200 N mm2, are
considered as the allowable stress of steel cables and synthetic
cables, respectively. The cross-sectional area of the synthetic cables
is given by the expression
X
n
Ac ¼ Ai ¼ nAi ¼ n15:28 mm2
i¼1
where n is the number of the parallel fibres, with cross-sectional
areas of 15.28 mm2, from which the cable is constructed. The
cross-sectional area of the steel cables is Ac = n148.1 mm2, where
n is the number of the parallel spiral strand ropes with cross-sec-
tional areas of 148.1 mm2 of which the cable is composed. The mod-
ulus of elasticity of steel cables and synthetic cables is
Ec = 150000 N mm2 and Ec = 130000 N mm2, respectively [37].
The dome is subjected to a uniform vertical load with a magnitude
of q = 1.0 kN m2.
In all applications, i.e. in form-finding and in static analyses at
the investigated times s0 and sk we use the dynamic relaxation
method with kinetic damping based on the calculation of a se-
quence of decreasing kinetic energy peaks with the following
parameters: the time step Dt = 1 s, the convergence parameter
k ¼ 2 constant for the whole structure and a maximum residual
force of the structure equal to 104 kN.
The form-finding process starts from an initial specified
geometry of the dome as is shown in Fig. 2. At the same time,
pre-stresses in the members are arbitrarily specified. As, the dome
is not in equilibrium, the structure is set into motion by unbal-
anced internal forces. Unbalanced forces and displacements are
computed using the dynamic relaxation method until the dome
reaches a steady initial equilibrium state according to a specified
maximum tolerance (the residuals of all the degrees of freedom
are less than104 kN). Otherwise, the obtained internal forces are
taken as the initial values of pre-stressing forces of the dome for
the further time-dependent static analyses at the initial time s0
(creep of cables is ignored) and at the times sk = 1; 10; 100; 1000
and 10000 days, when creep of the steel and synthetic cables is
considered.
Plots of axial forces N(sk) in the individual members of the
dome (as are ridge cables, diagonal cables, cable hoops and struts)
formed from steel and synthetic cables at investigated times sk are
shown in Figs. 5 and 7. Plots of vertical displacements w(sk) of se-
ð18Þ
lected nodes 1–4 of the dome formed from steel and synthetic
cables at investigated times sk are shown in Figs. 6 and 8.
Figs. 6a and 8a show displacements only due to creep without ini-
tial displacements at time s0. Figs. 6b and 8b illustrate comprehen-
sive displacements as a sum of initial displacements at time s0 and
increments of displacements due to the creep of the cables at times
sk. From the figures it is clear that internal forces decrease signifi-
cantly as the structure gradually begins to slacken and vertical
deflections increase with time.
Comparisons of axial forces N(sk) and comprehensive vertical
displacements w(sk) in selected members (cables and struts) and
nodes of the dome formed from steel and synthetic cables at inves-
tigated times sk are shown in Fig. 9. From the comparisons shown
in Fig. 9a–d it can be seen that there are only small differences be-
tween axial forces in steel and synthetic cables at the initial time s0
(creep is ignored). Significant differences are visible in Fig. 9e at the
initial time s0 between nodal vertical displacements of a structure
formed from steel and synthetic cables due to the different modu-
lus of elasticity of individual materials. On the other hand, due to
constructions of cables (spiral and parallel-lay form of wires and/
 S. Kmet, M. Mojdis / Computers and Structures 125 (2013) 11–22
or fibres), an influence of creep on the variation of axial forces and
vertical displacements is in the case of parallel-lay synthetic cables
less than those in the case of steel spiral cables. The largest de-
crease of axial forces at time s = 10000 days in comparison with
those at the initial time s0 is 36.5% for steel ridge cables, 31.5%
for steel diagonal cables and 34.2% for steel cable hoops. The larg-
est decrease of axial forces at time s = 10000 days in comparison
with those at the initial time s0 is 16.4% for synthetic ridge cables,
13.6% for synthetic diagonal cables and 19.1% for synthetic cable
hoops. The maximal decrease of compressed axial forces in the
struts of the dome formed from steel cables represents 27.8% and
for the dome formed from synthetic cables 11.8%.
The largest increase of vertical displacements at time
s = 10000 days in comparison with those at initial time s0 is
39.8% for the dome formed from steel cables and 8.5% for the dome
formed from synthetic cables.
Variations of typical characteristics of the dome formed from
synthetic cables during the iteration process at investigated times
sk as are kinetic energy of the node 1, residual forces in the node 1,
axial forces in the cable 1 and vertical positions of the node 1 are
shown in Figs. 10 and 11. It is clear that the first time loaded cable
dome at the initial time s0 converges to the solution at a slower
rate than the loaded slack dome at the investigated times sk. Vari-
ations of nodal vertical positions z of the dome formed from syn-
thetic cables during the iteration process at investigated times sk
are shown in Fig. 12.
For cables exposed to creep strain increments, the initial stiff-
ness will alter due to time-dependent changes of the cables’
lengths which are sequentially introduced into the system. At the
same time, stresses in some or all the members of the cable dome
are arbitrarily redistributed. Consequently, the system cannot
maintain equilibrium and the structure is set into motion by the
unbalanced internal forces. The displacements are computed using
the dynamic relaxation method based on calculating a sequence of
decreasing energy peaks, thereby permitting the structure to reach
the steady equilibrium sate at the investigated time. Apart from
particular cases (an initial slackening) or chance situations, maxi-
mal unbalanced forces in the time-dependent analysis are not as
large as in the analysis of the structure under an imposed external
load at the initial state. Hence, less time and fewer iterations as
well as kinetic energy peaks are needed until the required degree
of convergence is achieved.
Results confirmed a physical relevance of the proposed theoret-
ical approach.
5. Conclusions
In this paper, a time-dependent computational model of the
geometrically non-linear and materially linear pre-stressed cable
domes with rheologic properties, based on the application of the
modified dynamic relaxation method and creep theory was devel-
oped. Applications were presented to illustrate the time-depen-
dent behaviour of cable domes and to demonstrate the efficiency
of the proposed method.
Results obtained from two numerical examples confirmed
physical relevance of the proposed theoretical approach.
The stiffness of cable domes is conditioned by their states of
prestress. The decrease of prestress due to creep of cables can
cause failure and a loss of reliability of cable domes during their
working life. This time-dependent computational model is deemed
useful due to its pragmatic ability to predict the time-dependent
behaviour of prestressed cable domes. This approach can increase
the reliability and enhance the performance of cable domes.
There is a growing need for numerical methods devoted to
time-dependent analysis of prestressed cable structures. The
21
proposed modified dynamic relaxation method can be used for this
purpose since it provides time-dependent control of the forces in
structural members and nodal displacements (deflections) of the
structure. The method provides the designer effective ways for
guiding the evolution of the system by an appropriate and rational
choice of its initial stiffness.
As a natural extension of this research, verification of the meth-
od by a comparison with the results obtained by tests of a time-
dependent behaviour of selected cable dome models awaits further
attention.
Acknowledgement
This work is part of Research Project No. 1/0321/12, partially
founded by the Scientific Grant Agency of the Ministry of Education
of the Slovak Republic and the Slovak Academy of Sciences. The
present research has been carried out within the project: Centre
of excellent integrated research for progressive building structures,
materials and technologies, supported by European Union Struc-
tural funds.
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