Design Of Retractable Roof Structures

Retractable roof structure is a type of structure in which part of, or the entire roof can be moved within a short time so that the building can be used with the roof either in an opened state or in a closed state. Moving roof lets building have indoor and outdoor using functions. It is wildly used in modern sport facilities.Indoor and outdoor using functions are obtained from the moving roof. The movement of retractable roof makes the design of retractable roof structures very complex. Compared with the convention buildings, the design of retractable roof structures is composed of three parts: architecture, structure and mechanism. They are interdependent and interactional.The dissertation limits itself to the structures using rigid retractable method and is divided into three parts. In part one a summary of retractable roof is presented. In this part, the concepts, the development and the classifications in different points of view of the retractable roof structure are concluded. The whole design process and some considerations should be take are discussed from architecture, structure and mechanism in detail in part two. In part three, a design sample is given to explain how to design a retractable roof structure.