Structural evaluation of an existing steel natatorium by FEM and dynamic measurement

Based on numerical and experimental methods, a systematic structural evaluation of a steel natatorium in service was carried out in detail in this paper. Planning of inspection tasks was proposed firstly according to some national codes in China in order to obtain the economic and reliable results. The field visual inspections and static computation were conducted in turn under in-service environmental conditions. Further a three-dimensional finite element model was developed according to its factual geometry properties obtained from the field inspection. An analytical modal analysis was performed to provide the analytical modal properties. The field vibration tests on the natatorium were conducted and then two different system identification methods were used to obtain the dynamic characteristics of the natatorium. A good correlation was achieved in results obtained from the two system identification methods and the finite element method (FEM). The numerical and experimental results demonstrated that the main structure of the natatorium in its present status is safe and it still satisfies the demand of the national codes in China. But the roof system such as purlines and skeletons must be removed and rebuilt completely. Moreover the system identification results showed that field vibration test is sufficient to identify the reliable dynamic properties of the natatorium. The constructive suggestion on structural evaluation of the natatorium is that periodic assessment work must be maintained to ensure the natatorium's safety in the future.