Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	GR/L41288/01
Title:	DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF MINIMUM ENERGY FORMS OF LIGHTWEIGHT TENSION MEMBRANES
Principal Investigator:	Lewis, Professor W
Other Investigators:
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:	Arup Group Ltd University of Surrey
Department:	Sch of Engineering
Organisation:	University of Warwick
Scheme:	Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts:	15 December 1997	Ends:	14 December 2000	Value (£):	92,892
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Civil Engineering Materials
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Construction
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
The structures proposed for study are tension membranes modelled on the general principle of minimum potential energy of surface tension. Other than the immediately obvious advantage that such membranes minimise the weight and cost of material, their uniform tension field avoids differential prestressing of fabric, leading to improved durability. It is proposed to use Formian as a pre- and post- processor, with the Dynamic Relaxation as an equation solver. The combination of these two powerful numerical techniques will produce significant improvements in the efficiency of the method of solution. Experimental verification of the numerical results will involve (flexible) fabric and soap-film models, as well as rigid ones producing rapid prototyping technology.
Key Findings
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
Potential use in non-academic contexts
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
Impacts
Description This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk Summary Date Materialised
Sectors submitted by the Researcher
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
Project URL:
Further Information:
Organisation Website:	http://www.warwick.ac.uk