A wind tunnel study was carried out to accurately determine the wind loads on the ETFE-clad roof system of this proposed indoor sports stadium in Dunedin, New Zealand. The wind loads acting on the supporting steel frame structure was also determined.
The load correlation response technique was used and enabled a direct derivation of 25 key load effects (axial forces, reactions and deflections). This technique enabled the accurate derivation of the critical load combinations for the supporting steel structure with the benefit of accounting for the lack of correlation of the peak panel pressures across the structure.
As the first 3 modes of vibration of the structure had natural frequencies between 0.7Hz and 0.9Hz, an analysis of the resonant part of the dynamic response was determined and accounted for 10% of the total response.
Subsequent to this, the structural consultant, SKM, needed to analyse the performance under fatigue for the bottom chord of the primary and the cantilever projecting to the east. The analysis was carried out and presented in the form of load versus number of cycles (over the expected life of the structure). This enabled the detailed analysis of the fatigue performance of certain key connections, which were modelled by the structural engineer in more detail.