Abstract
The frameworks of tunnel greenhouse structures usually comprise slender arches formed from a thin-walled steel circular hollow section. Previous work has shown that a second-order, elasto-plastic analysis is required to predict the structural behaviour of these slender tubular arches. The first objective of the present study has been to assess the moment-rotation relationship of the cross-section of the tubes in order to characterise their true relational behaviour. The influence of this rheological behaviour on the accuracy of a structural model developed to predict the global resistance of an arch under various loading distributions is then investigated. The plastification of the tubes under combined axial forces and bending moments is also studied using a non-linear, 3-dimensional finite element calcultation. The results are discussed and an equivalent simplified model is proposed which is more readily usable in practice. Finally, the significance of these result on the calibration of a monotubular arch analysis against experimental results is evaluated.