Experimental study of rolling multi-lug cable-strut joints under multiple load conditions

This paper proposed a new type of fully assembled rolling multi-lugs cable-strut (RMCS) joint with bearing and introduces a universal design method and fully assembled method for this joint. Compared to conventional joints, RMCS joints can be used in a wide range of different dome structures by reducing the loss of prestress during tensioning and meeting the problem of multi-tab application. The theoretical analysis of the RMCS joint indicated the bearings could reduce the prestress loss. The RMCS joint was designed and applied in the cable dome model. A static load test was conducted on the whole cable dome and the performance of joints under complicated load combinations in static load was analyzed. The error between the theoretical model and the experimental data is about 5%, which indicated that the theoretical model is reliable. Through the theoretical and experimental study, the results show that the RMCS joint provides a high-performance solution that can be used to improve the structural stability and stiffness of long-span spatial structures in cable domes.