The Sensitive Analysis And Structure Improvement Of Levy Dome

Levy dome is a self-stress spatial structure, comprised of cables, struts and membrane, which is also a reasonable and efficient structure. Its structure form origins from the Georgia dome.The Monte Carlo method and the orthogonal design method were introduced. And in order to find out if the cables, lateral stiffness of column, stiffness of compression ring and the vertical struts are sensitive to Levy dome, the Monte Carlo method and the orthogonal design method were adopted, static and dynamic analysis were carried out respectively to identify the sensitivity of these factors to the structure. Under the static load, the outermost ridge cable was the most sensitive factor and on the earthquake action, the lateral stiffness of column was the most sensitive factor.Since the ridge cables of Levy dome were tend to loose, the inside ridge cables and the inside cable hoops were replaced by rigid bars. The comparison between the original structure and the improved structure on static behavior and dynamical behavior was studied. It showed that the improved structure has a better mechanical behavior. After that, in order to find out if the cables are sensitive to the improved structure, the static and dynamic analysis were carried out respectively to identify the sensitivity of cables to the structure. The results of the improved structure on sensitivity were almost the same as the original one.