Study on sunshine temperature field for large-span steel tube arch in Tibet

It is necessary to accurately analyse the deformation effects of steel tube arches under construction in Tibet’s high-altitude regions, where significant diurnal temperature variations and intense solar radiation prevail. Numerical simulation analysis on the sectional temperature field of the steel tube arch is carried out based on the modified American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers model. The experimental research is conducted by arranging temperature measurement points on the section of the steel arch ribs. The research shows that the temperature distribution of steel tube arches under solar radiation exhibits distinct spatiotemporal non-linear characteristics both in the transverse and longitudinal directions of the structure. Based on experimental results and finite-element analysis, the sectional temperature gradient curve for dumbbell-shaped arch ribs in the Tibet region is obtained. The dumbbell-shaped steel tube arch exhibits a temperature distribution pattern where the temperature decreases gradually from the upper tube to the lower tube and then to the web under solar radiation. The deviation between the temperature of the steel tube arch and the environmental temperature is quantified by introducing an uneven temperature coefficient.