Different types of membrane structures have different degrees of difficulty in stress analysis, design, construction, fabrication and installation, and their applications are different, but they have the following common characteristics:
(1) When building large-scale public buildings with light deadweight, it has better performance-price ratio. Membrane structure is lighter than traditional structure by one or several orders of magnitude, and the weight and cost per unit area of structure will not increase significantly with the increase of span.
(2) Beautiful and epochal membrane structure breaks through the traditional architectural structure form and is easy to be made into various shapes with rich colors. It is easy to form night scenery with the cooperation of lights, giving people the enjoyment of modern beauty. Because of its technological advancement, membrane structure is known as modern high-tech architecture, which is the 21st century architecture.
(3) Reduce energy consumption Membrane material has good transmittance, transmittance is about 7%~20%. It can make full use of natural light, no artificial lighting during the day, and can fully meet the needs of various sports and other activities. Membrane material has a refractive index of more than 70%. Under sunlight, it forms soft astigmatism indoors, giving people a comfortable and dreamlike feeling.
(4) The construction speed is fast. The cutting and making of diaphragms, steel cables and steel structures are all completed in the factory. They can be carried out simultaneously with the lower reinforced concrete structures or components. In the construction site, only the process of connection, installation, positioning and tension of steel cables, steel structures and diaphragms is carried out. Therefore, the construction and installation on the site is more civilized, rapid and fast.
(5) Economic benefit is obvious. Although the investment of membrane structure construction project is slightly larger at present, the economic effect is very obvious in the long run because the daily maintenance cost of this kind of structure is very small (called "maintenance-free structure"). If this kind of structure is used in super-long-span buildings, it will have a more prominent price advantage. The economic advantage of cable-membrane structure is proportional to the space span and technical difficulty.
(6) It is safe and reliable to use because of its light weight and good seismic performance. Membrane structure belongs to flexible structure, which can withstand large displacement and is not easy to collapse as a whole. Membrane materials are generally flame retardant materials and are not easy to cause fire.
(7) It can be easily made into a detachable structure and transported. It can be used for touring performances and exhibitions. For example, the music awning designed and manufactured by an American company covers an area of more than 300 square meters, and its disassembly and installation only takes less than 6 hours.
(8) It can be used in a wide range from Alaska to Saudi Arabia in terms of climatic conditions; from scale, it can be as small as a single tent, garden sketches, and as large as buildings covering tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of square meters. Some people even envisaged covering a small town to realize man-made nature.