Hello everyone!
I have been using STAAD for two years to do static structural analysis mostly. Recently, we got a new project involving dynamic loads on tension-only members. The building is a light-weight metallic building with the simple shape with pinned supports. The roof is covered by tension fabrics, and the metal frame was braced by tension-only steel cables. Below is a screenshot of the 2D model:
The amount of the load is equal to the wind load as per NBC2010, but need to be dynamic ranging from 0.1 Hz to 20 Hz. We want to find out the modes, deflections and most importantly, the reaction forces on the foundations. We could calculate and apply the wind load as per Canadian code manually.
I researched on the time history analysis but found that it will not work with the presence of tension-only members (the tension cables). I guess that I have to play with the response spectrum or seismic load generators. I will be very happy if anyone could give me some advice on this dynamic load analysis on tension-only members structure.
Thank you in advance!
Cheng