SHELLS

DOMES
FOLDED PLATES
 WHAT IS A SHELL STRUCTURE?
A shell is a type
of structural
element which
is characterized
by its geometry,
being a three-dimensional solid whose thickness is very
small when compared with other dimensions, and in
structural terms, by the stress resultants calculated in
the middle plane displaying components which are both
coplanar and normal to the surface .A shell roof is a
common type of roof that is made from thin material.
The roof is curved and used to cover large, one-story
buildings. As it usually is aesthetically pleasing, a shell
roof is commonly used in public buildings. These roofs are
useful when the inside of the building is open and does
not contain walls or pillars that could support a flat or pitched
roof.
 CONCRETE SHELL

1. A concrete shell, also commonly called thin shell

concrete structure, is a structure composed of a
relatively thin shell of concrete, usually with no
interior columns or exterior buttresses.
2. The shells are most commonly flat plates
and domes, but may also take the form
of ellipsoids or cylindrical sections, or some combination
thereof.
3. The first concrete shell dates back to the 2nd
century
 HISTORY
The oldest known concrete shell,
the Pantheon in Rome, was completed
about AD 125, and is still standing. It has
a massive concrete dome 43m in
diameter, with an oculus at its centre. A
monolithic structure, it appears to have
been sculpted in place by applying thin
layers on top of each other in decreasing
diameter. Massively thick at the bottom
and thinning (with aerated volcanic
pumice as part of the concrete mix) at
the top, the Pantheon is a remarkable
feat of engineering.
TYPES OF SHELL ROOFS
 SINGLE BARREL SHELL
 MULTI BARREL SHELL
 THE CONTINOUS BARREL
 UNSTIFFENED EDGES.
 CORRUGATED CURVES
 THE LAZYS
 EDGE SUPPORTED SHELLS
 NORTH LIGHT SHELLS
 BUTTERFLY SHELLS
 OPEN AND CLOSED SHELL
SINGLE BARREL SHELL
 A single barrel shell looks like a long arch
and is used in long, rectangular structures,
such as airplane hangars.
MULTI BARREL SHELL
 Multi-barrel shells often contain
arrangements of different-sized arches,
and are often used in public works
buildings.
CONTINOUS BARREL SHELL ROOF

 Continuous barrel roofs are used on

large structures, such as airports, that
require multiple shells to cover the floor
space. These roofs appear to roll up and
down like waves.
OTHERS ARE
ADVANTAGES OF SHELL ROOF
 The floor space beneath this roof can be made much larger
than the floor space below another type of roof. This is
because the curve in the roof adds additional structural
support, allowing the roof to be heavier and larger while
remaining intact.
 It is an ideal roof structure for office buildings and public
buildings, such as libraries, theatres and recreation centres,
where large groups of people need to meet in an
unobstructed area.
 These roofs have interesting aesthetics and can be used to
beautify a building.
 their design directs water, snow and debris off the edge of
the roof — much in the same way that a pitched roof does —
a shell roof rarely leaks.
 The cost of materials for this type of roof can be
considerably lower than the materials required for either a
flat or a pitched roof.
DISADVANTAGES OF SHELL
ROOF
 They are quite costly to build.
 The slope of the roof and the curve of the arc must be carefully
designed in order for the building to remain stable. 
 Also, a shell roof does not work well on buildings with many levels,
as the entire structure of the roof must be built on a single level
 There are also problems with lighting and ventilation in these types
of roofs because they do not allow for skylights and overhead
ventilation is difficult to install.
EXAMPLES OF SHELL
STRUCTURES
FOOD COURT AT THE INFOSYS
CAMPUS, BANGALORE.

The most aesthetically pleasing, functionally satisfying shell structure.

Shell structure of the TWA Flight Center Building
by Eero Saarinen, John F. Kennedy International
Airport, New York.
 DOME
 A dome is an architectural
element that resembles the
hollow upper half of a sphere. A
dome can rest upon a
rotunda or drum, and can be
supported
by columns or piers that
transition to the dome
through squinches or pendentiv
es. A lantern may cover
an oculus and may itself
have another dome.
HISTORY OF DOME STRUCTURE
 Domes have a long architectural lineage that
extends back into prehistory and they have been
constructed from mud, stone, wood, brick,
concrete, metal, glass, and plastic over the
centuries. The symbolism associated with domes
includes mortuary, celestial, and governmental
traditions that have likewise developed over time.
 Domes have been found from early Mesopotamia,
which may explain the form's spread. They are
found in Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, and Chinese
architecture in the Ancient world.
FEATURES OF DOME
 1.INTERNAL FORCES :The outward thrusts in
the lower portion of a hemispherical masonry
dome can be counteracted with the use of
chains incorporated around the circumference
or with external buttressing, although cracking
along the meridians is natural. For small or tall
domes with less horizontal thrust, the thickness
of the supporting arches or walls can be
enough to resist deformation, which is why
drums tend to be much thicker than the domes
they support.
2.ACOUSTICS:
 Because domes are concave from
below, they can reflect sound and create
echoes.
 A dome may have a "whispering gallery"
at its base that at certain places
transmits distinct sound to other distant
places in the gallery.
3.ZONE OF TRANSITION :A compound dome (red) with
pendentives (yellow) from a sphere of greater radius than the dome.
 MATERIALS:- The earliest domes in the Middle
East were built with mud-brick and, eventually,
with baked brick and stone. Domes of wood
allowed for wide spans due to the relatively light
and flexible nature of the material and were the
normal method for domed churches by the 7th
century, although most domes were built with the
other less flexible materials.

 SYMBOLISM :- By Hellenistic and Roman times,

the domical tholos had become the customary
cemetery symbol.
TYPES OF DOMES
 TYPES OF DOMES
 1. BEEHIVE DOME - They consist of purely horizontal
layers. As the layers get higher, each is
slightly cantilevered, toward the center until meeting at the
top.
EXAMPLE-  A monumental example is the
Mycenaean Treasury of Atreus from the late Bronze Age.
 COMPOUND DOME- compound domes have pendentives
that support a smaller diameter dome immediately above
them, as in the Hagia Sophia.

 CROSS-ARCH DOME- Rather than meeting in the centre

of the dome, the ribs characteristically intersect one
another off- centre , forming an empty polygonal space in
the centre . Geometry is a key element of the designs, with
the octagon being perhaps the most popular shape used.
 GEODESIC DOME-

Geodesic domes are the upper

portion of geodesic spheres.

They are composed of a
framework of triangles in a
 polyhedron pattern. The
structures are based upon
 octahedrons or tetrahedrons
HEMISPHERICAL DOME-
The hemispherical dome is half of a sphere.

Hemispherical dome Braced dome

BRACED DOME-  Braced domes often have a very

low weight and are usually used to cover spans of up
to 150 meters.

CLOISTER VAULT-these are domes that maintain a

polygonal shape in their horizontal cross section. The
earliest known examples date to the first century BC,
such as the Tabularium of Rome from 78 BC.
PARABOLIC DOME-

• It is a kind of dome in which bending

stress due to uniform distributed load
of its dead load is zero.
• Hence its is widely used in buildings
in ancient times without the incoming
of these modern composite
structures.
• If a point load is applied on the apex
of the dome its bending stress is
infinite.
• Hence in most of the parabolic
domes its apex is stiffened or
modified to gain its stability.
 ONION DOME-  An onion dome is a greater
than hemispherical dome with a pointed top
in an ogee profile. They are found in
the Near East, Middle East, Persia, and India
and may not have had a single point of
origin.
 OVAL DOME- An oval dome is a dome
of oval shape in plan, profile, or both
 UMBRELLA DOME-

These are a type of dome

divided at the base into curved
segments, which follow the curve
of the elevation. "Fluted" may
refer specifically to this pattern
as an external feature, such as
was common in Mamluk Egypt.
ADVANTAGES OF DOME

 STRENGTH-  They are fire, water, and

wind resistant, making them impervious
to hurricanes, tornadoes, fires and other
threatening natural disasters.
 FIRE PROOF
 ENERGY EFFICIENCY
 LOW MAINTAINANCE- There is no
worry about roof repairs, wood rot,
termite damage.
STRESS DISTRIBUTION
IN DOMES
EXAMPLES OF DOME
STRUCTURES
 ALAI DARWAZA, NEW DELHI

SAFDARGUNJ
TOMB, DELHI

GOL GUMBAZ,
BIJAPUR,KARNATAKA
KANTEERAVA INDOOR STADIUM,
BANGALORE.

The stadium has an elliptical dome consisting of 120 folded plates (precast
M-40 grade concrete) of varying cross section with the plate thickness of
40mm and the series of interconnected ribs.
FOLDED PLATES
 Folded plates are
assemblies of flat plates
rigidly connected
together along their
edges in such a way
that the structural
system that is capable
of carrying loads without
the need for additional
supporting beams along
mutual edges.
HISTORY OF FOLDED
PLATES
 PROFESSOR EUDENE FREYSSINET
performed the first roof structure with
folded plates in 1923 as an aircraft
hangar at ORLY AIRPORT in Paris.
Structural Behavior of
Folding
 At first, the external forces are
transferred to the shorter edge of
one folding element.

 There, the reaction as an axial

force is divided between the
adjacent elements.

 Then the forces transferred to the

bearings.
 The Application of Folded
Structures
Miami Marine Stadium,
Florida

 As Roof Structure
Church of Notre Dame
de Royan, France

 As Wall Structure
Advantages of folded-plate structure
 Very light form of construction. To span 30 m
shell thickness required is 60 mm only.
 The use of concrete as a building material
reduces both materials cost and a construction
cost.
 Longer span can be provided.
 Flat shapes by choosing certain arched shapes.
 Esthetically it looks good over other forms of
construction.
Disadvantages of folded-plate structure
 Shuttering is difficult.
 Greater accuracy in formwork is required.
 Good labor and supervision necessary.
 Rise of roof may be a disadvantage
EXAMPLES OF FOLDED-
PLATE STRUCTURES.
 Air Force Academy Chapel, USA
Architect: Walter Netsch,
Length: 280 ft, Height: 150 ft, Width: 84 ft,
Year: 1962
 Kamalapur Rail Station

Bangladesh National Museum