Structural Analysis Example of Steel Construction Greenhouses

The greenhouse is an agricultural structure which provides the necessary growth factors for plant production and enables the mechanization of the crops. Greenhouse cultivation is one of the most important income generating branches of agriculture. Nowadays, computer software’s are used for anything as it is being used for planning greenhouses, more robust construction and economical results are obtained this way. Business owners, investing their money in greenhouses, are copying the structural features of existing greenhouses with all wrong calculated parameters and errors. Leaving their valuable cash and future of their investment in the hands of an iron-smith. As a result, the greenhouses which are built without static and strength calculations, more materials are used, or insecure constructions are being applied. When an economic loss occurs depending on structural damage, it will unavoidably lead to economic losses for farmers and implicitly for the country. This study, emphasizes the structural analyses of a one-span glass covered gable-roofed greenhouse, having an area of 720 m2 located in Antalya province. Structural analysis of the greenhouse was made with SAP2000 program. Mechanical properties of steel used in gable roofs, glass covered greenhouse's, theoretical load calculations are made depending on the TS 498 and TS EN 13031-1 Turkish standards. Variable loads on the greenhouse are calculated as distributed loads with classical methods by analyzing the gable-roofed glass-covered greenhouse according to load combinations (wind, plant, fixed) with SAP2000 program. Also, although there is not a big difference in terms of cost, greenhouse security is endangered as the required cross-section element is not used. With an optimized area of 720 m2, the greenhouse saves 2.736 kg of building material. An average of 11.8% of the building materials can be saved in 1 decare area. Considering the same load conditions; the use of SAP2000 analysis reduces the cost, and there is no change in strength