1.1 1:100 Scale Model
The smaller model was wind tunnel tested in the open-throat return, subsonic
wind tunnel, located in Randolph Hall and owned by the Aerospace and Ocean
Engineering (AOE) Department of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
This wind tunnel was constructed by Virginia Tech faculty and is used mostly for student
instruction and experimentation. The wind tunnel testing investigated the deflected shape
of the model at various wind speeds and angles of the model with respect to the wind
direction. Observational data regarding the fluttering of the membrane and the possibility
of excessive membrane flutter was gathered.
This model was snow load tested in the Geotechnical Laboratory in Patton Hall.
The snow load testing consisted of recording incremental measurements of the deflected
shape of the membrane as the load intensity was increased to failure of the structure.
3.1.2 1:50 Scale Model
The larger model was wind tunnel tested in the low speed, boundary layer wind
tunnel located at the Environmental Systems Laboratory and owned by the College of
Architecture and Urban Studies at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
Because of its large size, this model could not be tested in the open-throat return,
subsonic wind tunnel. Observations of the flow interaction between the wind and the
structure at various wind speeds and wind directions were made during the wind tunnel
testing. Flutter in the membrane was visually monitored, but because of the low wind
speeds, none was observed.
The snow load testing consisted of recording incremental measurements of the
deflected shape of the membrane as the load intensity was increased to structural failure.
Snow loading was also performed on the 1:50 scale single arch model, using 8 different
arches and 4 different loading conditions. All of the single arch tests were also continued until structural failure occurred.
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