Upgrading the Spoke Wheel Stadium Roof Concept

The roof structure of Olympic Stadium in Rome had been conceived, studied and realized between the end of 1988 and the April 1990, in total 16 months of work. This roof is the first example of spoke wheel roof structural system, that today is widely applied on many actual Stadiums around the world [1]. Wind tunnel tests on the roof structure have been carried out at the BLWT Lab. of Western Ontario University: at that time, there have been many discussions between the designer and wind tunnel researchers about the integration of wind tunnel tests data into the design process for sub-horizontal wide span roofs.

The conceptual design and the method of wind dynamic analysis has been updated for the Yaoundé roof Stadium, now under construction. The aerodynamic behavior of Yaoundé stadium roof has been tested in London RWDI wind tunnel. Innovative and recently proposed numerical techniques have been adopted to perform dynamic analyses under wind action.

Erection sequences prescribed for roofs of these two Stadiums are both remarkable and advanced: the big lift adopted procedure for the Olympic stadium roof in Rome and the new tie down pre tensioning operation, provided for the Yaoundé stadium cable roof.