A comparative study of wide-span

MSc Civil Engineering

Student: Minying Guan roof shell structures
Supervisor: Prof. Gert van der Heijden
UCL Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering, Gower St, London, WC1E 6BT

1. Introduction 4. Results
Shells that function efficiently in aesthetical and structural Case 1: Investigation on thickness
designs have been extensively applied in a wide range of fields. 5000.0
Self-weight: N2 at the mid span
60000.0
Self-weight: S along the longitudinal edges

One of typical examples of shell forms in civil engineering is the 0.0 40000.0

wide-span roof structures. These structures are preferable to

N2 (N/m)
20000.0
-5000.0

S (N/m)
many structures as they have the following advantages (Ventsel
0.0
-10000.0
-20000.0

& Krauthammer, 2001) : -15000.0 -40000.0

-60000.0
Have high stiffness and strength-to-weight ratio
-20000.0
0.0 5.0 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Angle from the apex (degree) Distance from one curved end (m)

Cover larger areas with less construction material cost T=0.075

T=0.045
t=0.075
t=0.045
T=0.060
T=0.035
t=0.060
t=0.035
T=0.075
T=0.045
t=0.075
t=0.045
T=0.060
T=0.035
t=0.060
t=0.035

Perform efficiently under symmetrical loading and support Figure 2: Circumferential force at mid span and longitudinal force along linear edges varying in thickness and compared with membrane theory

Free of bending stresses for thin shells Case 2: Investigation on boundary conditions
Superior in the architectural aesthetics N2: Comparison with different boundary conditions S: Comparison with different boundary conditions
5000.0 60000.0

However, bending stresses could occur in a small region around 0.0

40000.0
-5000.0
the point of disturbance or the edges of shell where membrane

N2 (N/m)
20000.0

S (N/m)
-10000.0
0.0

stresses are not capable to carry loads. If the stress distributions -15000.0
-20000.0
-20000.0
were not sufficiently analysed, the failure of shell structures could -25000.0
-40000.0

-60000.0
occur without significant deformations. Therefore, it is important
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Angle from the apex (degree) Distance from one end (m)
to have knowledge about stress distributions by parametric study diaphragms-free diaphragms-fixed free-fixed diaphragms-free diaphragms-fixed free-fixed

based on the membrane theory and numerical modelling. Figure 3: Circumferential force at mid span and longitudinal force along linear edges varying in boundary conditions

Case 3: Investigation on shapes

2. Aim and Objectives

N2: Comparison with different shapes N2: Comparison with different shapes
5000.0 60000
0.0 40000
-5000.0 20000
N2 (N/m)

S (N/m)
The aim is to optimise the stress distribution and structural -10000.0
-15000.0
-20000
0

-20000.0
behaviour of cylindrical shell roofs for more practical structure -25000.0 -40000
-30000.0 -60000
designs in the future by means of the investigations on the edge 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Angle from the apex (degree) Distance from one end (m)
effects that depend on shapes, thickness and boundary and semiellipse - theory semiellipse - modelling semicircle - modelling
semiellipse - theory semiellipse - modelling semicirle - modelling

loading conditions. Several specific objectives are presented: Figure 4: Circumferential force at mid span and longitudinal force along linear edges varying in shape and compared with membrane theory

To illustrate the membrane theory of cylindrical shell roofs Case 4: Investigation on loading conditions
and the need of combination with bending theory. Wind load: N2 at the mid span Wind load: S along the longitudinal edges

To determine membrane forces of the semi-circular cylindrical 20000.0

15000.0
40000
30000
10000.0 20000
shell roof based on membrane theory.
N2 (N/m)

5000.0 10000
S (N/m)

0.0 0

To model cylindrical shell roofs with various parameters to -5000.0

-10000.0
-10000
-20000
-15000.0 -30000
analyse the edge effects by the comparison with membrane -20000.0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180
-40000
0 5 10 15 20 25 30

theory. Angle from the windward end (degree)

Distance from windward end (m)

membrane theory diaphragm-free diaphragms-fixed membrane theory diaphragms-free diaphragms-fixed

Figure 5: Circumferential force at mid span and longitudinal force along linear edges under wind load and compared with membrane theory

3. Methodology N2 distribution of shell roofs depending on different parameters

I. Membrane theory
Membrane theory of shells deals with the problems of thin
shells with membrane state of stress that carry out-of-plane
loadings primarily by way of in-plane membrane forces without Figure 6 N2 distribution of cylindrical shell roof (a) with semi-ellipse directrix (b) under wind load (c) with fixed edges (d) with semi-circle directrix under dead load
bending and twisting moments. The membrane forces for
semi-circular cylindrical shell roofs:
5. Conclusions
Dead load:
%& Generally, almost all modelling results accorded with membrane
" = '
theory. However, the inconformity occurred in N2 under wind
/ = load, possiblyindicating that N2 under asymmetrical loadings was
4
= 2 unsuitable to be completely analysed by membrane theory. The
/
Figure 1: Semi-circular cylindrical roof (Ventsel & Krauthammer, 2001) results also reflected that S distributes symmetrically about the
Wind load: mid span. Besides, with more constraints in the edges, N2 at mid
7&
" = ' span was increasing and S at the ends was decreasing, and both
/ = two forces became greater when the thickness increased.
4 Furthermore, the fact that semi-ellipse cylindrical shell roof had
=
/ greater values of both forces than semi-circle one was found.
II. Bending theory Limitation and Recommendations:
The flexural stresses are often existed closed to shell edges
Limited types of study on the edge effect of shape and loading
with the membrane stresses. Hence, the majority of cylindrical
conditions and thus more work needs to be done
shell roofs are required to be analysed in mixed states.
Difficult to quantify the influences of these parameters on edge
III. Finite element modelling effect that certainly warrant further research
Abaqus that is a powerful and wide-adaptive finite element The further investigation of cylindrical shell roofs with edge
analysis software will be used in the following analysis. beams needs to be undertaken

References: Ventsel, E. & Krauthammer, T., 2001. Thin Plates and Shells Theory: Analysis, and Applications. New York: Marcel Dekker Inc..