Numerical and experimental study on loaded suspendome subjected to sudden cable failure

Cables are key components of suspendome structures and usually bear a high level of tension force. Thus, their sudden failure may cause a dramatic vibratory response and disproportionate internal force redistributions. This study investigated the cable failure effect of a 10.8 m scaled-down suspendome model during in-service state through numerical simulations and failure tests. The deforming behaviors, internal force redistribution pattern, and oscillatory responses were studied and compared. Results showed that cable failure causes evident oscillations to the rest of the members. However, the suspendome exhibited strong structural stiffness, and no obvious collapse or failure behaviors were observed. Cable sliding occurred at rolling joints, which could influence the internal force redistribution patterns and dynamic effects at cables or strut members around the break region. Cable sliding behaviors reduced tension recovering ability and the dynamic effect at cable segments. Dynamic amplification factor and dynamic coefficient methods were both employed to evaluate the dynamic effect from the cable rupture because of different oscillatory patterns between cable segments and the rest of the members. Dynamic amplification factor was more applicable for shell and strut members, and the safety of cable segments can be evaluated and ensured with the dynamic coefficient method. The suggested values for the two indexes were also derived based on the test data, which could easily be used in the structural design process.