11/24/2011

CENG 7503 - Analysis and Design

of Shell Structures
SHELL STRUCTURES
Course Instructor: Dr.-techn. Medhanye B.

STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING CHAIR

ETHIOPIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
MEKELLE UNIVERSITY

Natural shell forms

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Natural shell forms Natural shell forms

Natural shell forms Eduardo Torroja

• Born August 27, 1899

• Spanish engineer who
was considered a pioneer
in concrete-shell
structures
• Believed identity of form
and structure could be
realized with thin vaults of
concrete
• Graduated in 1923
• Died June 15, 1961

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Pierre Lardy Heinz Isler

• Born in 1903 • Born July 26, 1926 in Zollikon, Switzerland
• Attended Federal Technical Institute
• Attended Federal Institute of • Graduated in 1950 with a degree in Civil
Technology in 1923 Engineering
• Only student out of 100+ to choose thin-
• Hired Heinz Isler in 1951 shells for senior design
• Proponent for model based • Worked as an assistant to Pierre Lardy
designs • Based most of his structures on smaller
models
• Emphasized the importance of • Stated there were 3 ways to arrive at shell
aesthetics for full-scale shapes, (Freely shaped hills, Rubber Balloon
Membranes, and Reversed Hanging Cloths
structures
• Died in 1958

Hanging membranes by Heinz Isler

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Thin-Shell Roof over gas station in Bern-Zurich

Highway

Indoor Tennis Center in Heimberg, Switzerland

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Introduction • Shells are classified as membrane, thin and

thick shells depending on the ratio of their
•Shells are mostly thin-walled curved thickness to respective radius of curvature as
surface structures in which the thickness is shown below.
rather small compared to the lateral
Membrane Thin shell Thick shell
dimensions and radii of curvature.
≈1/1000 < Thickness < ≈1/20
Radius of curvature
•Shells constitute among the most common
and most efficient structural elements in
nature and technology. They are used
whenever high strength, large spans and
minimum materials are required.

• Shell structures have found wide applications in SHELL ACTION IN RELATION TO BEAM, ARCH,
practice. These include, among others, roofs of various AND PLATE ACTIONS
type, water tanks and reservoirs as well as liquid • The property that makes both arches and shells
containers and storage facilities, boilers, pressure
capable of resisting external transverse loadings
vessels, bodies of transportation structures including
aircrafts, space crafts, motor vehicles and ships, egg- by “extensional” or “membrane” action, as
shaped sewage digesters, cooling towers at thermal opposed to “flexural” or “bending” action in
power stations. beams and plates, is curvature.
• Thin shells constitute a class of structures where
form, not mass, plays a significant role in • Extensional or membrane actions are any in–
resisting external actions as well as self-weight plane direct forces, whether tensile or
of the system. Shells of double curvature are compressive. Structural materials are generally
among the most efficient of known structural more efficient when resisting loads in the
forms. extensional (membrane) mode rather than the
flexural mode.

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• In beams and plates, transverse external loads • In practice, a mixture of extensional and flexural
do not give rise to any appreciable extensional actions usually occurs in arches and shells,
action within these elements, provided the since the above ideal conditions are not usually
displacements after deformation remain satisfied; for these structural elements, good
relatively small in relation to the transverse design consists of minimizing the flexural
dimension of the elements. actions.

• Arches and shells can resist distributed • For shells, the relative proportions of extensional
transverse applied loads almost wholly by and flexural effects at a given point depend on
extensional action. This can take place if the several factors such as the type of shell surface,
loading pattern is of a certain specific type and support conditions, loading configuration, and
suitable boundary conditions are provided the proximity of edges and certain
discontinuities.

Classification of shells based on geometric form

TYPES OF SHELL STRUCTURES (a) Surfaces of revolution: Surfaces of revolution are generated
by rotating a plane curve, called the meridian, about an axis
Shells can be classified based on different criteria: that is not necessarily intersecting the meridian. Circular

Geometric form cylinders, cones, spherical or elliptical domes, hyperboloids of
revolution, and toroids are some examples.

Shell curvature
(b) Surfaces of translation: A surface of translation is defined as

Geometric developability
the surface generated by keeping a plane curve parallel to its
initial plane as we move it along another plane curve. The two
planes containing the two curves are at right angles to each
other.
(c) Ruled surfaces: Ruled surfaces are obtained by the
translation of straight lines over two end curves. The straight
lines are not necessarily at right angles to the planes
containing the end curves.

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Classification of shells based on shell curvature

(a) Singly curved shells: These shells have a zero Gaussian
curvature. Some shells of revolution (circular cylinders, Classification of shells based on geometrical developability:
cones), shells of translation, or ruled surfaces (circular or (a) Developable surfaces
noncircular cylinders and cones) are examples of singly Developable surfaces are defined as surfaces that can be
curved shells. ‘‘developed’’ into a plane form without cutting and/or
(b) Doubly curved shells stretching their middle surface. All singly curved surfaces are
 With Positive Gaussian curvature: Some shells of revolution examples of developable surfaces.
(circular domes, ellipsoids and paraboloids of revolution)
and shells of translation and ruled surfaces (elliptic (b) Non-developable surfaces
paraboloids, paraboloids of revolution) can be assigned to
A non-developable surface is a surface that has to be cut
this category of surfaces.
and/or stretched in order to be developed into a planar form.
 With negative Gaussian curvature: This category of surfaces Surfaces with double curvature are usually nondevelopable.
consists of some shells of revolution (hyperboloids of
revolution of one sheet) and shells of translation or ruled
surfaces (paraboloids, conoids, hyperboloids of revolution
of one sheet).

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COURSE OBJECTIVES

CENG 7503 - Analysis and Design Conferring an in-depth knowledge and

of Shell Structures understanding of the analysis methods and
design rules of shell structures with a focus on
shells of revolution.
Course Instructor: Dr.-techn. Medhanye B.

STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING CHAIR

ETHIOPIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
MEKELLE UNIVERSITY

1. In-plane and out-of-plane effects in shells:

Membrane and Bending theories

COURSE CONTENTS:

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2. Bending theory of cylindrical shells 3. Membrane theory of shells of revolution

Axis of revolution
4. Bending theory of shells of revolution under 5. Membrane theory for shells of general shapes
axisymmetric loads
Axis of revolution

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7. Stability problems in shell structures

6. Analysis of multi-shell structures for bending
and membrane stresses

TEACHING & LEARNING METHOD

(Delivery of skills)
REFERENCE MATERIALS
Through lecture (Video conferencing) with
integrated practical exercises • Timoshenko and Woinowsky-Krieger. “Theory of plates
and shells”
Group home page: • Eduard Ventsel & Theodor Krauthammer. “Thin Plates
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mushell and Shells: Theory, Analysis, and Applications”
Group email address:
• Calladine. “Theory of Shell structures”
[email protected] • Flugge. “Stresses in Shells”
Personal email address:
[email protected]

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