By "typical," I mean one constructed of 4x8 foil-backed rigid insulation, taped w/ 6" bifilament tape, and generally following a Danger-type construction method as described on the boards here...
It makes sense that taller or stretched yurts are exposed to higher wind loads, and would fail more often when all other factors of construction are equal.
But when these shelters do fail due to wind loads, do we have (anecdotal or compiled) reasons for the commonest points of failure? Something along the lines of the comments in Section Two 6> here, or the Google forum discussion here.
Do the seams themselves generally hold?
Do we know if taping both sides is worth the expense/effort?
Does the roof tend to separate from the walls?
Does a rope anchor provide a too-narrow seam against which the material folds?
Does an anchoring mechanism with some elastic give in the strap mechanism do better than one with inelastic straps tightly tensioned?
Do anchoring stakes pull out more typically than the anchoring straps fail?
I am personally inclined to overbuilding, perhaps b/c I am not the brightest candle in the temple. Tempted toward thicker material; 6" tape both sides; reinforced seams (a physical plate of some type spanning wall and roof-wall joints); robust anchoring...blah blah blah. This is partly to keep my tender ass from being exposed to the elements, but mostly to prevent this:
I understand the simplistic answer to failure points is "all of the above," but it's not very useful, and all that does is perpetrate failure because it avoids focusing on areas that can be improved upon. While any number of inadequate builds might be a cause of failure, there would be a typical mechanism of failure for a well-built, properly-spec'd, rigid insulation yurt exposed to a high wind load. I want to focus my improvement effort there.
But I'm wondering if anyone is in a position to comment on how failure actually occurs most often. I'm also wondering if we know how much more likely high, or stretched, designs fail. Does a crappily-built standard yurt hold up better than a well-built tall yurt, for example?
Given Vinay Gupta's interest in scaling this idea to the world, I'd hope that formal tests of some kind have been done for various approaches and modifications. I would love to see that kind of data. Is there any? The only thing unique to the BM itself is the anchoring technique into the playa firma, and I'm pretty sure that can be effected such that the anchor itself can be taken out of the failure loop...
Or is the whole better-built yurt a lost cause 'cuz the next guy over has an unanchored item that is going to take down my yurt when the wind blows even if I am the brick house pig?
ETA: Canoe's helpful data on tape (thank you!) here. However I'd like to assume that construction technique itself is sound (e.g. wrt tape, use 6" bifil; wipe away dust and clean off surface oil; align accurately...)
)
