Numerical Study on Wrinkling Properties of a Circular Membrane

Abstract

Wrinkling phenomena of membrane, which include highly geometrical nonlinearity, are analyzed for fu-ture large space structures with membranes. Using mixed interpolation of tensorial components (MITC) shell elements, out-of-plane properties of wrinkled membrane, which could not obtained by the conventional tension field theory, are investigated. Various characteristics of a circular membrane with a center rotation hub are clarified; the effects of initial stress, membrane thickness and structural features on its wrinkled region are shown, and the number of wrinkles and out-of-plane deformation are presented. Difference of wrinkled region from these obtained by the tension field theory are also discussed.