Application and behaviour of deployable structures

Abstract

Deployable structure is an assembly of pre-fabricated members that can be transformed from a compact state to the deployed state. People have started to use deployable structure because of the mobility and ability to use it anywhere and whenever needed. Space can also be saved when a big structure can be compacted to a small structural unit for storage. Deployable structures are also used in stadium roofs and military and disaster relief tents in the recent years. Because of the complexity of the deployed configuration of the structure, deployable structure is very different from the conventional structure. We must understand that the functionality and feasibility of the structure does not depend on the structural behavior of the deployed state under service load only, but also the structural response during the deployment and dismantling. Structural response during deployment is difficult to analyze using conventional method. Because of this reason, researches have to be done using finite element analysis, using complicated software to check on the feasibility of using deployable structures. This final year project served as a preliminary analysis of feasibility of modeling a deployable structural unit on the software ABAQUS/CAE, analyzing the feasibility of using a number of these particular structural units added together for the purpose of disaster reliefs and military in the means of a retractable dome and for the purpose of the applications of deployable structures around the world today.