Bearing capacity analysis of air-supported membrane structures under snow loads

As a structure with relatively light self-weight, the air-supported membrane structure is quite sensitive to wind and snow loads, and the structural response varies greatly under different distribution forms of snow loads. Therefore, it is particularly necessary to accurately predict the possible snow distribution on the air-supported membrane structure and the response of the structure under snow loads. This paper analyzes the impact of snowdrift on the snow distribution on the air-supported membrane structure through numerical simulation methods. The Euler-Euler method is adopted in this paper, based on the Reynolds-averaged NS model, mixture model, and the snow deposition and erosion model. By changing parameters such as wind speed, blowing duration, and length-width ratio of the structure, it is found that the snow distribution on the membrane area varies under different conditions. Moreover, based on these results, the response of the air-supported membrane structure under snow loads is further studied, including the membrane surface displacement and bearing capacity development under different snow distributions. The findings indicate that both wind and snow conditions, along with structural parameters, influence the progression of structural displacement and the magnitude of loads at the point of achieving bearing capacity. The results show that the wind and snow conditions and structural parameters will affect the development trend of structural displacement and the size of the load when the bearing capacity is reached. This study confirms that for air-supported membrane structures, the unfavorable condition of the structure varies considerably for different environmental and structural parameters, and that a link should be established between the design values of the loads and the relevant parameters when developing the design values. Subsequent research should be based on the statistics of regional climate characteristics and engineering parameters of the air-supported membrane structure, and select typical cases for further analysis.