Evaluation of the Thermal Characteristics of Membrane Materials for Architectural Membrane Structures

Abstract

Architectural membrane structures are used to construct buildings such as sport domes, because membrane material(fabric coated with soft resin)is flexible, light weight, and offers moderate light transmittance. However, the thermal characteristics of membrane materials have not been investigated in detail. The thermal characteristics of membrane materials were evaluated using a Thermolabo ll developed by Kawabata and Niwa. Filed tests were made for mock-up structures made of various membrane materials. A numerical analysis predicted well the field test results and verified the usefulness of the thermal characteristics evaluated.