Stability Analysis of Ellipsoid Suspend-Dome

An ellipsoid suspend-dome was modeled and analyzed by using ABAQUS software. Both geometric nonlinear buckling analysis and dual nonlinear buckling analysis were conducted considering the variation of initial geometrical imperfection, cable arrangement and prestress level. Arc-length method was used to trace the equilibrium path so that the load-displacement curve of the structure was obtained. Comparing the load-displacement curve and ultimate load carrying capacity of the structure, it's shown that the stability performance of the ellipsoid suspend-dome is much better than that of the single-layer lattice shells. Initial geometrical imperfection will reduce the stability bearing capacity of the structure. Furthermore, the cable arrangement and the prestress level should be optimized because they have influence on the stability performance of the structure.