| Summary |
In the stress - beformation analysis of a membrane structure，it is important to correctly understand the stress - strain relationship of the membrane material and to reflect this understanding in calculations to improve the accuracy of analysis. Teflon coating Fabric，which is widely used in the construction of perament membrane structures，is a composite material made of glass fiber fabric with a coating of ethylene-tetrafluoride-resin. It is well known from various test results that because of the combined characteristics of the fabric and resin， the stress-strain relationship of the composite exhibits complicated non-linear characteristics. As a result of the geometrical weaving yarn structure, the fabric has a unique stress-strain relationship, which is different from that of ordinary glastic materials. In order to carry out a stress-deformation analysis in consisting of the stress-strain relationship peculiar to this resin coated fabric, Fabric Membrane Elements consisting of a Fabric Element and a Coating Element were established. Each Fabric Element represents the overall stress-strain characteristics of the fabric by adopting a geometrical structural model of the weave, and a Coating Element represents the elaxticity added by the coating. Application of the finite element method to these F.M.E. enabled a stress-deformation analysis method for membrane
structures to be established. This method incorporated thorough consideration of the unique no-.linear characteristics of membrane materials and the geometrical non-linear characteristics resulting from deformation of the membrane structure.
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