Fabric structures guidelines updated

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Tension Membrane Committee has revised ASCE 55-10, the organization’s primary set of guidelines for designing a wide variety of tensioned fabric structures. The updated standard, ASCE 55-16, includes a chapter on air-supported structures, information on how to design a structure to meet codes and more. Working groups spent over three years revising the standard with the goal of bringing it up to date with current building codes and engineering principles. Critical issues that are addressed include the wide range of polymeric materials currently used in architectural structures; how to test different materials; better defining fabric-to-fabric, fabric-to-nonfabric and nonfabric connections to ensure performance; and updating all fire specifications and standards to meet current codes.