Bending and wrinkling behaviours of polyester fabric membrane structures under inflation

Membrane structures made of high-strength polyester fabrics are deployable and lightweight, which can be utilized in architecture, aerospace and marine structures. The design and optimization of an inflated structure depends on a thorough understanding of polyester fabric mechanics. In this work, firstly, the material properties of the polyester fabric membrane were analyzed by a tensile test. The bending and wrinkling behaviours of the inflated polyester fabric membrane were investigated by experimental, analytical and numerical methods. Specimens of varying internal pressures and diameters were subjected to bending tests with highly controlled loading and boundary conditions. It was found that the flexural capacity of the inflated membrane structure was positively correlated with the diameter and the internal pressure but decreased obviously with the occurrence and propagation of wrinkles. Based on the energy principle, the prediction formula of mid-span deflection was developed with the consideration of shear stiffness. Furthermore, the surface-based fluid cavity method was employed to set up a finite element model (FE model). The flexural behaviour of inflated membrane structure can be predicted by both the analytical and the numerical method, and the reliability was verified by comparing with the experiment