6/4/2015

Whatitcosts:Tensilefabric|MagazineFeatures|Building

Thursday04June2015

Whatitcosts:Tensilefabric
Specifier2October2009
Fabricroofsarebecomingthetoppingofchoiceforeverythingfrombikeshedstoconcertvenues.PeterMayer
ofBLPInsurancelooksthroughtheavailableoptions
ThemillenniumdomenowknownastheO2isstillthelargesttensilefabricstructureintheworld,butsuch
roofsarenolongerthepreserveoflandmarkbuildings.Increasingly,theyarebeingspecifiedinpublicspaces,
schools,ascycleshelters,orfortemporaryoutdoorevents.
Twofabricsareusedforexternalcoverings:glassfibreclothandpolyester.Themostcommonandleast
expensiveoftheseispolyester,coatedwithPVC,whichisavailableinawidechoiceofcolours.ThePVC
usuallyincorporatesultravioletstabilisers,fireretardantsandantifungicidesandhasanexpectedservicelifeof
15to20years.
ThepolyesterPVCcompositecanbeimprovedwithfurthercoatings.Apolyvinylidenefluoride(PVDF)lacquer
canbeappliedoverthefabrictoimprovecleaningpropertiesitbecomesselfcleaningtosomedegree.The
expectedfunctionalservicelifeofthelacqueredmembranewouldbelongerthanforPVCalone.Butservicelives
tendtobebasedonappearancetheservicelifeofPVDFfinishesis1520yearsfornonweldabletypesand10
15yearsforweldabletypes.Othertopcoatingsincludepolyvinylfluoride(PVF)film,typicallyforaggressive
environmentswithaservicelifeof25years,andacryliccoatings,whichhaveashorterlife.
Glassfibreclothisusuallycoatedwithpolytetrafluoroethylene(PTFE)orTeflonforexternalapplications.Life
expectancyishighfrom20tomorethan30years.ThenonstickpropertiesofPTFEenhanceitsweather
proofingpropertiesandprovideadegreeofselfcleaning.UVradiationbleachesthePTFEcoatingwhite.Glass
fibrefabricneedstobemanufacturedtotighttolerancesandinstallationisexactingtoensurethereisno
creasingandcorrecttensioningisachieved.
Fabricproperties
PhysicalpropertiesofthefabricsuchastensileandtearstrengtharespecifiedtoISO1421andISO4674and
arerelatedtothecompositionofthefabricanditsthickness.Thicker,heaviergradefabricsgenerallyare
stronger,buthavelowerlighttransmission.
Fabricscanbetreatedtoachieveflameresistance.PTFEisnonflammable.Wherefabricisusedasacoverfor
abuilding,asprinklerormechanicalextractionsystemmayneededtomanagepotentialsmokeproductionfrom
fabric.
SinglelayersoffabriconlyachieveaUvalueof45W/m2K.Somemanufacturershavedevelopedcomposite
sandwichconstructions,claimingUvaluesaslowas0.22.6W/m2Kusingmineralfibresandmultilayerfoil
membranes.
BS3424istheBritishstandardfortestingcoatedfabrics.InternationalandEuropeanstandardshavereplaced
withdrawnpartsofBS3424,forexampleBSENISO2411foradhesionofcoatings.
Designandsupportingstructure
Designingfabricstructuresisaspecialistengineeringdisciplineusingpowerful3DCADandfiniteelement
analysissoftware.Thefabricshape,supportandcablestructuresaremodelledsothatexpectedwindinduced
stressesanddeflectionscanbeaccommodatedinthefinaldesignandtheriskofpondingisminimised.
Thefinalshapedependsonthecutofthefabric,positioningofsupportingstructuresandwhetherthefabricis
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6/4/2015

Whatitcosts:Tensilefabric|MagazineFeatures|Building

pretensioned.Edgedetailingmaybescallopedwithwireinanedgecufforincorporateametalropeforboltingto
aclampplatesystem.
Supportingstructuresmaycomprisecolumns,masts,cablesorringbeams.Materialchoicesincludegalvanized
lowcarbonsteel(polyesterpowdercoatedorpainted),aluminium(anodizedorpolyesterpowdercoated)or
stainlesssteel.
Condensationisariskontheundersideoffabricstructuresusedasbuildings.Ariskanalysisshouldbecarried
outtominimisethisandinformastrategytomanagetherisk.
Othercostissues
Costbenefitsmaybemadebyspecifyingoffthepegserviceratherthanbespokedesign.Printingonthefabric
andnonstandardcolourswillincreasecosts.
Inusecostsincludeexternalandinternalcleaning,regularinspectionandadjustmentoftension.Outbreaksof
Thissiteusescookies
fungaloralgaegrowthwouldneedspecialistcleaning.
By continuing to browse the site you are
Smallcutscanbepatcheduponsite,largerrepairswillrequirethefabrictobedismantledandtakentoa
agreeing to our use of cookies. Read our Cookie
workshop.Costsassociatedwithriskofdamageandvandalismcanbedesignedoutbykeepingthefabricoutof
Policy to find out more.
reachandusingsupportsthatarenoteasytoclimb.

Postscript:

BLPInsuranceprovideslatentdefectsinsuranceforbuildings,www.blpinsurance.com
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Readers'comments(1)
JohnTulloch|27Jul109:45am
doesanyonehaveindicativem2costsfortheseroofs?

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