Membrane Structure: Introduction & Its Features – Specialized Steel Structures

As per structural and architectural point of view, Membrane Structures are light and freeform structures to span a long distance with the minimum material used in their manufacturing. Membrane structures offers a lot of interesting possibilities ranging from railway platform roofing to sports complex. These membrane structures are mostly used as architectural feature for varied applications. In the urban environment, membrane structures are traditionally designed as highly curved structures, and nowadays more and more also as flat structures, in highly aesthetic manner.

Hindustan Alcox Limited, one of the leading membrane structures manufacturers specializes in building customized membrane structures with sophisticated designed practices. Our fabric architecture covers not only complex tensioned membrane structures but also non-tensile, aesthetically appealing and unique fabric sculptures.  Complex designs of these tensile membrane structures require a prior understanding of shape and form, the behavior of the materials used and the forces acting on it.  Applied loads not only have a big impact on the final shape, but also govern the material type to be used.

Features of membrane structures

Today, membrane structures are also increasingly used for weather protection in publicly used places. Some of the emerging features of membrane structures are as follows:

• Translucency: These fabric membrane structures offer partially lit spaces in the day light which reduces the cost of interior lightening. Moreover, at night artificial lightening magnifies its elegance and creates ambient exterior luminescence.
• Durability: :Ranging from a frigid arctic climate to hot & scorching weather, membranes such as PTFE fiberglass, ETFE film and PVC  proved to be an excellently durable and long lasting fabrics used in the manufacturing of membrane structures .
• Light-weight: :Need of less structural steel to support the roof in building membrane structures as compared to that conventional building not only enables long spans of column-free space, but also exhibits its light weight property as its special feature.
• Low maintenance: : As compared to conventional building, an equivalent-sized membrane structure needs minimum maintenance which not only exhibits their unique quality but also become one of the reasons to opt these structure as first choice by clients.
• Energy Conservation: High sun reflectivity and low absorption of sunlight by most of membrane structures, results in less energy used within a building and ultimately reducing electrical energy costs.
• Highly Aesthetic: : Due to unique flexible characteristics of membranes (such as PTFE fiberglass, ETFE film and PVC), Membrane structures provide a large number of designs with distinctive elegant forms, resulting into an iconic & unique structure for any building owner, city or region.

– Hindustan Alcox Limited, New Delhi