Effect of non-uniform temperature on the thermal behavior of large-span spatial steel structures under construction

The non-uniform temperature field of large-span spatial steel structure under solar radiation is analyzed, taking into account the shading of members. The time-varying and spatial distribution characteristics of the temperature field are determined. The impact of time-varying temperature on the thermal behavior of the structure during the construction process is assessed. The results show that the member shading increases the nonuniformity of the temperature field, with the temperature difference between members increasing by 49.73 %. Solar radiation power on the surface of the lower chord members decreases by 73.23 %, resulting in a temperature reduction of 6.18 degrees C. Member shading also leads to increased stresses in half of the members, with a maximum stress increase of 19.46 MPa. Additionally, 1.7 % of the members experienced a transition between tensile and compressive stresses. As the temperature difference between the installation temperature and the maximum temperature of the structure increases, node displacement becomes more pronounced. Meanwhile, greater node displacement at the time of installation results in increased cumulative deformation. During construction, attention should be paid to the effects of time-varying temperature at each construction stage.