METALLURGICAL DESIGN ISSUES AT CIRQUE DU SOLEIL

摘要

The modern live entertainment industry poses a number of interesting engineering problems in the design and use of large, dynamic, theatrical stage components, which can be on the order of 10s of meters in length and 100s of metric tons in moving mass. A prime example of these types of stage components can be seen at the Cirque du Soleil show Ka. Since show opening in 2005, a number of the components of the Gantry Lift, the main stage system, have needed modification to correct operational issues that arose from the initial design(s). This paper will focus on how mathematical modeling and analysis of the as-built components has been conducted to correct and improve operation of the stage system. In particular, this paper will describe the linear static structural calculations which have been used as the basis for component redesign to alleviate fatigue failure in the stage system.