The Approximate Equation for Global Buckling Load of Grid Shell Domes

The goal of this study is to propose an approximate equation to evaluate the global buckling load of dome grid shell. For considering the influence of overall stiffness for grid shells, the effective stiffness is defined according to past research. Different from conventionally mechanical methods, this study adopts regression analysis based on a software named “1stOpt” to forecast the relationship between buckling load factors \(\lambda\) , geometric parameter and effective stiffness. Through the linear buckling analysis, the dome grid shell models with different geometric parameters, in a total of 1225 cases, are analyzed to build the relationship and establish the dataset. By inputting the dataset into the 1stOpt, a suitably approximate equation is fitted with high precision.