Risk of Failure due to the Ponding Effect on Marquee Structures

This paper analyzes the risk of failure due to the ponding effect induced by rainfall on tents adopted to cover marquee structures, especially referring to real-world application scenarios (e.g., sports event structures, emergency shelters). The tents were assumed to be horizontal or sloped and loaded by concentrated vertical loads simulating ponding effects. The tents were also assumed to be continuously supported along two or four sides and have at the corners four supporting columns fixed at the base and connected at the top to a rigid contour beam. The analytical method allows one to determine the amplification factor of the weight of the water accumulated through the ponding effect on a tent under rain action. The ponding load in tent structures depends on the geometrical and mechanical characteristics of the tent and of the supporting column. Load increments are in the range between 1.2 and 6 for cases occurring in practice with low values of ratio between span and deflection. Water overflow can occur in tent structures designed with very low values of ratio between span and deflection.