Tensile Structure

A tensile structure is a construction of elements carrying only tension and no compression or bending. The term tensile should not be confused with tensegrity, which is a structural form with both tension and compression elements. Tensile structures are the most common type of thin-shell structures.This form of construction has only become more rigorously analyzed and widespread in large structures in the latter part of the twentieth century. Tensile structures have long been used in tents, where the guy ropes and tent poles provide pre-tension to the fabric and allow it to withstand loads.

Most tensile structures are supported by some form of compression or bending elements, such as masts (as in The O2, formerly the Millennium Dome), compression rings or beams.

Types of structure with significant tension members

• Linear structures
• Suspension bridges
• Draped cables
• Cable-stayed beams or trusses
• Cable trusses
• Straight tensioned cables
• Three-dimensional structures
• Bicycle wheel (can be used as a roof in a horizontal orientation)
• 3D cable trusses
• Tensegrity structures