Analytical model and general calculation procedure for wrinkled membrane parameters

The existing buckling theory and tension field theory for wrinkled membranes cannot systematically and conveniently acquire the parametric descriptions of wrinkles considering the prestress and deflection effects. Therefore, this paper proposes a mechanical model with the prestress and deflection based on Föppl–von Kármán equations with a modification parameter considering the contribution of membrane bending stiffness . The nonlinear buckling finite element analysis and experiments in the literature are introduced to determine the key parameters as 0.5. Besides, the results also verify the proposed mechanical model has the accurate predictive ability for stress and configuration parameters of wrinkles. Then, a general calculation procedure for wrinkle parameters of complex membranes is established based on the proposed analytical model and tension field theory. It can be divided into three steps, wrinkle discrimination, finite element model modification and wrinkle parameters calculation. Lastly, the rectangular membrane under different shear loads and the hexagonal membrane with tensile loads are investigated to clarify the proposed calculation procedure. The principles in this work can provide a more effective avenue for the accurate analysis of wrinkle behavior in the membrane structure. • The wrinkle mechanical model with the prestress and deflection is introduced. • A general calculation procedure is established to determine the wrinkle parameters. • The buckling concept of generalized shell theory and tension field theory are integrated. • The accuracy of the proposed procedure is verified by FEM and experimental methods.