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Analytical Methods of Analysis of Right and Open Helicoids

Conference Paper · April 2009

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Marina Rynkovskaya
Peoples' Friendship University of Russia
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 Analytical Methods of Analysis of Right and Open Helicoids
M.I. Rynkovskaya, MSc, assist.
Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, Moscow, Russia

Nowadays, interest for calculating methods for different shells is rising again
in the fact of new materials, technology development, and new requirements
to architectural appearance of structures. Helicoidal shells are used as
ramps, winding staircases, screws, elements of bore machines and so on.
Different numerical methods are widely used nowadays, but analytic methods
need research. The method of Rekatch was corrected by the author and led to
numerical results. The computer program based on the method was written in
MathCad for analysis of shallow right helicoids. In addition, open helicoidal
shell was also analyzed for accurate definition of advantages of two types of
linear helicoids. Analytical method was presented by S.N. Krivoshapko but the
author simplified it due to the application of Bernoulli numbers in the process
of integration of equations. The author suggests using the programs for rough
analyses of helicoids instead of expensive program complexes based on
numerical methods.

Shells can be helpful not only due to their good look and right functions but also due to
economy of materials and some other characteristics. Today building should be not only
functional and cheap but also interesting and attractive. Building becomes a symbol of a
company, city or a person who lives inside.
Helicoidal shells can be used not only in ramps and winding staircases but also as small
architectural details in the building composition. Working on this topic the author studied the
papers of American and other scientists concerned with the same shells. For example, Leissa
A.W., Lee J.K., Simmonds J., Stoker J.J., Fardis Michael N., and Skouteropoulou A.-M. have
the manuscripts devoted to helicoidal shell analysis.

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 These shells are used mostly due to their functionality for getting through the level to
level as in ramps and winding staircases as at the city stadium in Florence (Italy) designed by
P. Nervi (Fig. 1). The building in the center of Jakarta (Indonesia) and two towers in Marina-
City in Chicago (USA) have the helix elements. Sometimes architects make the whole
building in the form of helicoid like the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York
(USA).

Fig. 1. Spiral staircase at the city stadium, Florence (Italy). Fig. 2. Spiral staircase in the building, Jakarta
(Indonesia)
Right helicoidal shells were researched by different scientists who presented analytical
and numerical methods. Russian scientist V. Rekach [1] derived an analytical method for
analysis of right helicoids in 50th but the method didn’t become widely known because of
absence of numerical results.
V. Rekatch used a system of two differential equations suggested by E. Reissner

H 1 ∂ ⎛ 1 ∂u z ⎞
∇ 2∇ 2ϕ = − Eh ⎜ ⎟,
π r 2 ∂r ⎝ r ∂v ⎠
H 1 ∂ ⎛ 1 ∂ϕ ⎞
D∇ 2∇ 2u z = Z + ⎜ ⎟,
π r 2 ∂r ⎝ r ∂v ⎠
which he reduced to one ordinary eight-order differential equation

∇ 4∇ 4 (t , v )Φ (t , v ) + p 2∇ 2k ∇ 2k (t , v)Φ (t , v ) = 0 ,

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where t = ln r, ϕ = ⎛⎜ Eh
H⎞ 2
⎟∇ k (t , v )Φ(t , v ) , u z = ∇ (t , v )(t , v ) , Н – the pitch of a helicoid,
4
⎝ π ⎠

∇ 4 … is a harmonic operator , ∇ 2k … is two-order differential operator, r and v are the

curvilinear orthogonal but non-conjugate coordinates.
The solution was taken in the form of trigonometric Fourier series
∞
Φ(t , v ) = ∑ Φ m (t )sin mv .
m =1

This made it possible to obtain a system of ordinary differential equations of the eighth
order for determination of coefficients of the trigonometric Fourier series. But no numerical
results were obtained for Rekatch’s method for shallow right helicoidal shells and it was
forgotten for a half of a century.
Today due to wide actuality of shell analyses the method was led by the author to
numerical results with some corrections of the formulae. A computer program based on
Rekatch’s method was written for analysis of shallow right helicoids and numerical results
were obtained [2].
In addition, open helicoidal shell was also analyzed for accurate definition of
advantages of two types of linear helicoids.
The study of different literature on the geometrical investigations of developable shells
shows that only G.Ch. Bajoria (1985), S.B. Kositsyn (1996), M.K.K. Jayawardena (1992) and
S.N. Krivoshapko (2001) have studied stress-strain state of open helicoidal shells by analytic
or numerical methods. All thin-walled shells built in the form of open helicoids were
designed on the basis of experimental data.
The analytical asymptotic method presented by S.N. Krivoshapko [3] is a method of
small parameter. After application of twenty governing equations to open helicoidal shells he
rewrites them in a form convenient for the application of the method of small parameters

a 0α 4 α
d
dα
⎡ 3 d ⎛U ⎞⎤
⎢α dα ⎜⎝ α ⎟⎠ ⎥ = −
⎣ ⎦ CB 2
X + μ
⎡
⎢
⎣
W −
B2
1 + να 2 dW ⎤
dα ⎥⎦
(
, )
B 4 dV B 2 dU 2 a0
=− + 2U + 2 μW − ∫ α ( BY + X )dα + A1 ,
α dα α dα (1 − ν )C

d ⎧⎪ t d ⎡ B 4 d ⎛ 1 dW ⎞ ⎤
⎨ ⎢ ⎜ ⎟⎥ +
dα ⎪⎩α dα ⎣ α dα ⎝ α dα ⎠ ⎦

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 1 − ν ⎛ dU dV ⎞ dU ⎫
+μ ⎜ + B2 ⎟ + μα + μν (U + μW )⎬ +
2α ⎝ dα dα ⎠ dα ⎭
a 0α ⎛ Y ⎞
+ ⎜ μX + μ − Z ⎟ = 0,
C ⎝ B ⎠
where A1 is an arbitrary constant of integration. If the parameter μ = tgϕ < 1 is assumed to

be small, one can examine open helicoids with the slope angle φ of the rectilinear generators
under 450 using the asymptotic method of small parameter. The expansion of unknown
displacements U, V, and W into power series in terms of μ is
∞
U = U (α , μ ) = ∑ U k (α ) μ k ,
k =0

∞
V = V (α , μ ) = ∑ V k (α ) μ k ,
k =0

∞
W = W (α , μ ) = ∑ Wk (α ) μ k ,
k =0

where Uk , Vk , and Wk are the vector coefficients subjected to calculation [3].

The main problem of the method is approximation of the following functions

ln B 2
=
(
ln 1 + α 2 ) and arctan α ⋅ ln B 2
= arctan α
ln (1 + α 2 )
,
B2 1+α 2 B2 1+α 2
which couldn’t be integrated in evident form.
The author used Bernoulli numbers for integration. For example, the function

ln B 2
=
(
ln 1 + α 2 ) can be integrated with the help of Bernoulli numbers into the following
B2 1+α 2
form

∫
(
ln 1 + α 2 )
dα ( )
= ln 1 + α 2 ⋅ t − 2∑
( )
2 2 n 2 2 n − 1 Bn t 2 n + 1
,
1+α 2 (2n + 1)!

∫
( )
arctgα ⋅ ln 1 + α 2
dα
1
( )
= ln 1 + α 2 ⋅ t 2 + t 2 ⋅ ln (cos t ) +
2
1+α 2

+ 2∑
2 2 n −1 2 n
( )
2 − 1 Bnt 2 n + 2 ⋅ (2n + 1)
,
n(2n + 1)!(2n + 2 )
where Bn are Bernoulli’s numbers; t = arctan α.
A computer program was written in the Mathcad and numerical results were obtained
and compared with the results got for round plate with the same inner and external diameters.

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 The shallow thin helicoidal concrete shell examined by the new program has the
following characteristics: internal radius R1 = 4m, external radius R2 = 4m, Poison’s ratio ν =
0.17, Young’s modulus E = 32500 MPa, the thickness h = 0.1 m; the uniform surface load q
= 1kN/m2. The helix edges are rigidly fixed.

0
. 4
5 10

− Uz0 0.001
0.0015
− Uz2
0.002
0.0025
0.003
2 2.44 2.88 3.31 3.75 4.19 4.63 5.06 5.5
α
Fig. 3. Graphics of normal displacements for the plate and shallow open helicoidal shell
In the Fig. 3 one can see the graphic of normal displacement Uz2 obtained with the help
of first twenty Bernoulli’s numbers. Uz0 is the graphic for the plate and Uz2 is the graphic for
the shallow thin helicoid calculated by the analytical asymptotic method of the small
parameter with the help of Bernoulli’s numbers.
The author suggests using new programs for rough analyses of helicoids instead of
expensive program complexes based on numerical methods.
References
1. Rekatch V.G. Analysis of shallow right helicoidal shells (in Russian) // Proc. of MISI.
– M., 1957. – № 27. – PP. 113-132.
2. Rynkovskaya M.I. Rekatch’s method of calculation as applied to right helicoid (in
Russian) // Structural Mechanics of Engineering Constructions and Buildings, №3. M: 2008.
– PP. 23-29.
3. Krivoshapko S.N. Stress-strain analysis of thin elastic open helicoidal shells // Shells in
Architecture and Strength Analysis of Thin-Walled Civil-Engineering and Machine-Building
Constructions of Complex Forms. – Int. Conf., June 4-8, 2001, Moscow. – PP. 193-201.
Biography
Rynkovskaya M.I. was born in 1980. She completed the Peoples’ Friendship University
of Russia in 2004 and a post-graduate course in 2007. Now she is an assistant of Department
of Strength of Materials and Structures at Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia.
Address: M. Novikova, 6-1-32, Moscow, Russia. Phone number: 8-926-590-20-44.
E-mail: marine_step@mail.ru

UB – NE ASEE 2009 Conference 5

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