The crown of lightweight construction is the tension rope. Under bending load, the material in th... more The crown of lightweight construction is the tension rope. Under bending load, the material in the area of the neutral fiber is not or only slightly loaded. In slender structures under compression load, additional material has to be applied to prevent failure by buckling. In contrast to this, the tension rope is loaded homogeneously over its complete cross section until tensile strength is reached. In nature, evolution forces plants and animals to most efficient application of energy and material. Their mechanical loadability depends on material properties and loads, on the shape and constructive setup as well as on the failure mechanism of the complete structure. Natural constructions preferably apply tension ropes, even though these cannot always be recognized at first sight. Animals and plants do not only resist pure tension loads with tension ropes, but also compression and shear loads are often absorbed by a tricky arrangement of tension ropes. The present paper will analyze va...
The crown of lightweight construction is the tension rope. Under bending load, the material in th... more The crown of lightweight construction is the tension rope. Under bending load, the material in the area of the neutral fiber is not or only slightly loaded. In slender structures under compression load, additional material has to be applied to prevent failure by buckling. In contrast to this, the tension rope is loaded homogeneously over its complete cross section until tensile strength is reached. In nature, evolution forces plants and animals to most efficient application of energy and material. Their mechanical loadability depends on material properties and loads, on the shape and constructive setup as well as on the failure mechanism of the complete structure. Natural constructions preferably apply tension ropes, even though these cannot always be recognized at first sight. Animals and plants do not only resist pure tension loads with tension ropes, but also compression and shear loads are often absorbed by a tricky arrangement of tension ropes. The present paper will analyze va...
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Papers by Roland Kappel