IS : 2210 – 1988

a) Shell roofs and its types

The shell structure is a thin curved membrane or a slab that is usually made from the
reinforced cement concrete. The shell structure is used as both structure and covering
membrane. Shell or skin space roofs are preferable to plane roofs since they can be used to
cover large floor spaces with economical use of materials of construction. The use of curved
space roofs requires 25% to 40% less materials than that of the plane element. Shell
structure are defined as structures that are capable of maintaining their shape and the
support loads without any help of the frame or the solid mass materials. Structurally the
shell roofs are superior since the whole cross section is uniformly stressed due to the direct
forces with negligible bending effects. Due to this aspect the thickness of shells is usually
very small in the range of 75 mm to 150 mm

Shell roofs are generally adopted for hangers, sports auditoriums, exhibition halls,
industrial buildings and a variety of other large span structures where uninterrupted floor
space is required. Shell roofs are architecturally very expensive and have been used for
fomes by Romans. Recent advances include the construction of shell structures using
prefabricated shell element.

Following are types of Shell roofs.:

a) Cylindrical shells: These are shells in which the generatrix (moving curve) or the
directrix (stationary curve) is a straight line. For cylindrical shells, the common curves
are used are the area of the circle, semi-ellipse, parabola or catenary. The various
components of a cylindrical shell are the thin shell, edge beam and end frame or
transverse.
b) Multiple cylindrical shells: A series of parallel cylindrical shells which are transversely
continuous are termed as multiple cylindrical shells. Generally used for hangers, ware
houses and factory buildings.
c) Continuous cylindrical shells: These are cylindrical shells which are longitudinally
continuous over the traverse Multiple and continuous cylindrical shells are widely used
for market hall and ware house roofs. Cylindrical shells which are symmetrical about the
crown are terms as barrel shells.
d) North light shells: North light shells comprise of cylindrical shells with two springing at
different levels and built in single or multiple bays and have provisions for north light
glazing. North light shells are commonly for factory shed roofs.
e) Butterfly shells: A butterfly shells is formed when two parts of cylindrical shells are
joined together at their lower edges. This type of shell is commonly used for railway
platforms and bus shelter.
Fig (a) cylindrical shell Fig (b) Multiple cylindrical shells

Fig (c) North light shells Fig (d) Butterfly s

Folded Plate roofs
A folded plate roof is best described as an assembly of flat plates, or slabs, that are bent in different
directions and joined at their longitudinal edges. The way the structural system is connected
makes it capable of carrying loads without requiring the use of additional support beams.

These structures are typically built on-site of precast reinforced concrete, steel plates, or
tempered glass. Various shapes include rectangles, pyramids, prisms and non- rectangular
shapes. Since folded plate architecture is less material-intensive than other types of roofing
systems used for commercial applications, they are also usually less expensive.

In comparison with shells, folded plates have certain advantages as detailed below:
• Simple shuttering involving only straight planks are required.
• Moveable form work can be used resulting in speedy construction.
• Simple diaphragms are used in place of complicated traverse required shells.
• The design computations are simpler in comparison with shells.
• Folded plates consume slightly higher quantities of concrete and steel, but the increased
cost on this account is more than off set by the lower shuttering costs. Hence, folded plates
are competitive with shells for a wide range of spans.
d) Structural Behavior of shells.
The typical modem structure consists of an arrangement of beams and columns. The loads
in such a structure are collected by the flooring or roof system and distributed into the
beams. These beams then transmit the vertical load from the point of entry to the ends of
the beam. At this point the load is transferred into the columns. The load is then transmitted
along the column length to the foundation system, where it is distributed into the ground
surface. In the analysis of the beams and columns, these elements are treated as lines with a
certain cross section. The stresses acting on the cross section can then be calculated based
upon a number of simplifying assumptions. These structural elements fall into the category
of the linear, or one-dimensional, members. At the other end of the spectrum is the three-
dimensional elastic continua. Without any geometric limitations, no simplifying
assumptions can be reasonably made (Flugge, 1973)
In between these two extremes lies the class of structures known as two-dimensional surface
structures. Surface structures are, like linear members, capable of transmitting loads from one
point to another. Whereas the load path in a linear member is along the line, the load path in a
surface structure is along the surface. Included in this class of surface structures are plates
and shells. Both are defined as having one dimension, namely the thickness, significantly
smaller than the other two. The definition of a plate requires that its entire surface lie in a
plane. On the other hand, a shell is defined as a curved surface structure (Pfluger, 1961).

e) Analysis approach for shell (membrane and beam)

The membrane theory was formulated by Dischinger with the assumptions that the shell is
regarded as a perfectly flexible membrane of infinite extent, carrying direct forces in its
planes only. Over a limited zone at sufficient distances away from the boundaries, the
stress in the shell slab approaches a distribution which is statically determine and may be
found by the membrane theory. This procedure is applicable to shells whose span to radius
ratio is less than 0.5.
The equilibrium of the shell element is shown in fig below is examined under the given set of
direct forces with the following notations.
X- Direction of generatrix
Y-Direction of tangent to directrix at A
Z-Direction of the outward normal at A

Tx, Ty and S are the forces per unit length, R- Radius of the singly curved shell X, Y and Z
are components of external loads per unit area on the element
Dy=R.dQ

Equations of Equilibrium,
§X= 0, §Y= 0, §Z= 0,
(a) Forces in X- directions

(b) Forces in Y-directions

(2)

ôs

p R
'# R dz
d

' d 0“

Fig: Equilibrium of shell element

(c) Forces in Z-direction

The values of Tx Itnd S are to be evaluated by integrating equations (1) and (2)

Where Fi(‹p) and F2(q) are functions of ‹p only which have to be determined from boundary
conditions.
In most cases in practice X, Y and Z are functions of Q only and do not vary along X. Then T, is a
function of ‹t› only and does not depend on X.

Hence,

For a shell, simply supported at the end frames and symmetrically loaded, shear S=0 at x=0.
Fi(p) = 0
The traverse at ends cannot withstand forces normal to their planes. Hence, Tx '0 at x =+L and also in
most cases X = 0
T —— 2 E
0$
These three equations can be used to calculate membrane stresses for any type of directrix. Equations
for membrane stress under various types of load.

(a) Self-weight

Hence

Fig: Shell Weight

Lundgren ’s beam theory for long shells
In the beam theory developed by Lundgren, the shell is analyzed as a beam of curved cross
section spanning between the end frames or traverses. In the case of long shells, the
longitudinal force components are predominant and hence the beam theory is ideally suited
for the

analysis. The beam theory is generally applicable for cylindrical shells of (L/R) ratio
exceeding with value of n. In the beam theory the cross section of the shell is assumed with
or without edge beams and the sectional properties are determined and the stresses are
computed using the beam theory. An arch analysis is also conducted to determine the
traverse moments and thrusts so that suitable reinforcements are designed.

Fig : Shell properties

Where, R = Radius of the shell and

t = thickness of the shell

Second Moment of Area

g) Design criteria for cylindrical Shell roofs.

The analytical methods of design criteria consist of two parts, membrane analysis and edge
disturbance analysis.
(i) Membrane Analysis: In the membrane analysis, the shell is regarded as a perfectly
flexible membrane which is infinite in extent and is assumed to carry loads by means
of forces in its plane only. This analysis gives the two normal stress resultants Nx and
Ny in the longitudinal and the transverse directions and the shear stress resultant Nxy.
(ii) Edge disturbance analysis: Shells, in practice, are always limited by finite
boundaries where the boundary conditions demanded by the membrane theory are not
obtained with the result that a pure membrane state and causing bending stresses in the
shell. These are accounted for by carrying out the edge disturbance analysis.
Usually, edge disturbance analysis is confined to disturbance analysis is confined to
disturbance emanating from straight edge as any disturbance emanating from curved
edges is damped quite fast. Even in the
case of disturbance from straight edges, the bending stresses would get damped out
more rapidly in shells having chord width larger than the span and would seldom
travel beyond the crown, with the result that the effect of the further edge may be
ignored without appreciable error.

The superposition of the membrane and the edge disturbances stresses gives the final
stress pattern in the shell

Applicability of the Me
(i) Cylindrical shells with L/R ratio less than z shall be analyzed using any of the
accepted analytical methods.
In such shells, if p exceeds 10 and K exceeds 0.15 the effect at any point on
the shell of the disturbances emanating from the farther edge may be ignored,
where

For shells with P less than 7 and K less than 0.12, the
effect of the disturbances from both the edges shall be considered.
Shells with P values between 7 and 10 and k between 0.12 and 0.15 are
relatively infrequent. However, should such cases arise, the effects of both
the edges shall be considered.
(ii) Cylindrical Shells with L/R greater than or equal to z may be treated as
beams of curved cross section spanning between the traverses and the
analysis carried out using an approximate method known as the beam
method which consists of the following two parts:
a) The beam calculation which gives the longitudinal stress resultant Nx and
the shear stress resultant Nay find
b) The arch calculation which gives the transverse stress resultant Ny and
the transverse moment M y