A Case Study on the Selection of Optimum Loop Units for the Deployable Arc Structures Exposed to Lateral and Non-Uniform Gravity Loads

Radially deployable arches may be created by using various types of units. However, for any deployable
structure to be constructed in real life, it should satisfy the structural regulations and codes. Despite
various advantages from architectural perspective, deployable structures are weak to satisfy the
operational code limits when compared to trusses with similar height and span. Therefore, weight
minimization is very important to reduce the dead loads of structure which in return help to facilitate the
code-conformance of structure. The optimization of deployable structures requires an initial selection of
the loop unit types to define the structure parametrically. An initial selection strategy depending on the
loads on the structure is important to increase efficiency of optimization process. Under uniform gravity
loads optimum arrangement for each unit type converges to a similar point. However, in real world, the
loads on the arches are not always uniform and the structure is exposed to non-uniform loadings such as
point loads or lateral loads. This work focuses on the performance of various arches with different unit
types under lateral and non-uniform vertical loads. Different lateral load and non-uniform gravity loading
scenarios are created. For each scenario, arches with different units are analyzed. In all cases the clear
span and clear height kept the same. Performance of an arch with a specific unit type for a given load is
measured with a score that includes the deformations and the weight of the structure. All the members are
assumed to be circular hollow sections with variable diameter and thickness to have a meaningful weight
comparison between structures. This work intends to define an initial selection guide for deployable
arches under typical non-uniform and lateral loading conditions.