Control equation of feasible pre-stresses and feasibility of new types of rotating surface cable domes

Abstract The study proposes the control equation of feasible pre-stresses and the corresponding solving algorithm, and verifies three new types of rotating surface cable domes. First, the study takes that the structural displacements are zero as the control equation of feasible pre-stresses, and proposes a novel solving algorithm based on that target values of structural displacements are zero. Second, the study develops three new types of cable domes with different rotating surfaces, which have different Gaussian curvature. And then their feasibility in nature are verified through determining their feasible pre-stresses using the solving algorithm. Last, their ultimate bearing capacity under full and half-span vertical loads are investigated. The results indicate that the solving algorithm can determine the feasible pre-stresses efficiently and accurately, and three new cable domes proposed in the study are feasible in nature, and they have sufficient stiffness to bear external loads. The appearance of the three new rotating surface cable domes extends the cable domes from the traditional positive Gaussian curvature to the zero Gaussian and negative Gaussian curvature.