Broadwell’s patented cable harness system is necessary for your dome to achieve the

highest possible strength and protection against wind and snow.

Broadwell’s cable harness system is a netting of cable that goes over the entire fabric envelope and attaches to the dome

foundation. It covers the entire dome, distributing the forces acting on the fabric of the dome evenly across the entire

structure. Pulleys adjust the cable harness system as forces on the dome vary, thus constantly maintaining even force

distribution. This alleviates a tremendous amount of pressure and force the fabric has to handle, thus extending the durability

of the fabric envelope. As a result, Broadwell’s domes have a useful life around 5 years longer than domes without

our full cable harness system. See Addendum 1 for force calculations on dome fabric without the cable harness, and then

with the cable harness. Other domes that have only a few cables to reinforce the fabric do not distribute forces evenly, and

don’t provide any reinforcement at all to the fabric

corners of the dome.

The dangerous problem with this is that the fabric

alone cannot handle nearly the internal pressure as

when it is reinforced by the cable harness system.

One of the simplest and clearest illustrations of this

is Broadwell’s test of how much pressure a balloon

can handle when inflated alone, then when

reinforced with a netting similar to our cable harness

system. As you can see from the pictures below, the net reinforcement nearly triples the balloons ability to withstand internal

pressure. This is critical when understanding how much snow load a dome can handle.

Uneven force distribution No reinforcement in corners

An air dome made by another company

The balloon alone pops when the pressure reads 2.84. The pressure

in the balloon with reinforcement continues to climb at 6.70

To view the video of our balloon

click here.test online,

How Do Air Domes Handle Heavy Snow and Strong Wind?

By Increasing Internal Pressure

Many dome companies do not even engineer their domes to withstand the weight of any accumulated snow, contending that

all snow will just slide off the dome. However, every dome has a nearly flat surface on top, which will always accumulate snow.

One of the widely accepted air dome industry methods for protecting a dome when a heavy snow fall is predicted is to increase

the internal pressure of the dome. Fabric alone cannot handle nearly as high internal pressures as fabric supported by the cable

harness system. Thus, air dome pressure in Broadwell’s domes can be higher than any dome without our cable harness system,

created a much more rigid and strong structure cable of handling much higher snow loads.

When it comes to wind, domes without

our cable harness will experience

tremendous movement, often causing

internal hang lights to sway and scare

occupants.

See a video of the inside of a dome that

does not have a cable harness system by

clicking here. You will see in the video

how dramatically the dome moves and

the lights inside swing back and forth. To

the right is a screenshot of this video.

Broadwell’s cable harness system creates

a very rigid structure, dramatically

reducing movement of the dome during

wind.

©Broadwell 2017

Contact Us About Acquiring Your Air Dome!

1-844-759-3663

info@broadwellairdomes.com

Perfect Safety Record: We have nearly 200 domes and are the only major dome

manufacturer to never have a catastrophic dome failure.

Healthy Air: Almost 100% of bacteria and pathogens are removed by our filtration

systems. Odors are almost completely eliminated.

Low Initial Investment: Broadwell air domes are a fraction the cost of traditional

buildings.

Energy Efficient: Ongoing operating costs are 30% of traditional buildings.

Strong and Safe: Broadwell’s patented cable net system reinforces the dome and can

be engineered to handle wind loads of up to 150mph and snow loads of up to 50psf.

Addendum 1 – Force load calculations. Fabric envelope alone versus fabric envelope reinforced by cable harness system

Source: “Method for the Design of Air-Supported Cyclindrical Structures” – H. H. Joseph, PE