Non-uniform temperature field and effect on construction of large-span steel structures

For large-span steel structures, the construction process is important, and it needs to be analyzed in the design stage to provide guidance on construction control. In terms of the complex load effects that affect the forced state of a structure, the time-dependent temperature field is one of the most important effects, but it is always not considered. In this paper, a new method for simulating the non-uniform and time-varying temperature field of large-span steel structures is proposed. This method calculates the shading effect and the actual solar radiation absorbed by tubular members. Moreover, the proposed method is combined with the construction process simulation method to consider the temperature effect in the construction accurately. After that, the steel roof of the terminal building of the Beijing Daxing International Airport is taken as an application case. The numerical simulation of the temperature field and the construction process that considers the temperature effect is performed using ANSYS. The accuracy of the simulation results is verified with the data of on-site monitoring. The results show that the temperature field of the large-span steel structure has obvious non-uniformity and time-varying characteristics, and the sunlight shadow should not be ignored. The cumulative temperature effect generated during the construction process is significant. The proposed method is recommended for the design stage of large-span steel structures.