MMBC: V

SHELL STRUCTURES
Have you ever tried to crush an egg by pressing it evenly
between your palms? It’s almost impossible. But drop it
on the floor, and it breaks instantly. Why do you think
that happens?
The egg is a thin shell, and its curved shape helps
distribute the force evenly.

This is a natural example of a shell structure—

strong, lightweight, and efficient.
NATURAL SHELLS
Definition
A shell structure is a thin curved membrane or slab usually
of reinforced concrete, that functions both as structure and
covering, the structure deriving its strength and rigidity
from the curved shell form.

The strength and rigidity of curved shell structures makes it

possible to construct single curved barrel vaults 60 mm thk
and double curved hyperbolic paraboloids 40 mm thk in
reinforced concrete for spans of 30 m.

Advantage: aesthetics and the strength and stiffness

inherent in the form.
Disadvantages: Cost of construction is high as centering will
be very expensive

Thin structure
Composed of curved sheets of material
Curvature plays important role– structural behaviour
Functions both as structure and covering
Development of a Shell

Materials Types of curves

● Reinforced concrete Shell structure is the two dimensional

derivative of arch.
● Steel
It generates membrane stress in its both
● Aluminum Alloys the orthogonal surface directions.

● Plastics Shell structure can be classified based on

curvatures and surface revolution /
● Glass surface translation.

● Timber
Advantages of Shell Structures
● Shell structures optimize material usage, leading to lightweight and resource-efficient construction.
● Shell structures can cover expansive areas without the need for internal supports, making them ideal for open and
column-free spaces.
● Shell structures offer versatile and unique architectural designs, allowing for aesthetically pleasing and iconic
buildings.
● The curvature of shell structures facilitates the incorporation of large openings, promoting ample natural light in
interiors.

Disadvantages of Shell Structures

● Designing and analyzing shell structures can be intricate, requiring specialized engineering expertise and
advanced computational tools.
● Shell structures may be less adaptable for certain functional requirements compared to traditional building
forms.
● The construction of shell structures may pose challenges, especially when dealing with large spans or unique
geometric shapes. (Form work, Cost, time, material handling..)
● Construction costs for shell structures can be relatively high due to specialized materials, expertise, and construction
techniques.
● Maintenance and repair of shell structures may be more complex, requiring specialized knowledge and skills.
Single curve

Double Curve
In same direction

Opposite Directions
Concave and convex
Classification of shells

Single curvature shells or Developable shells : are curved on Double curvature shells/ non developable shells: are
one linear axis and are a part of a cylinder or cone in the form of either part of a sphere, or a hyperboloid of revolution
barrel vaults and conoid shells.

Examples of single curvature shells Examples of double curvature, synclastic shells

Surfaces of revolution: Surfaces of revolution are generated by the revolution of a plane curve, called the meridional
curve, about an axis, called the axis of revolution.

Surfaces of translation: are generated by sliding a plane curve along another plane curve, while keeping the orientation
of the sliding curve constant. The latter curve, on which the original curve slides, is called the generator of the surface.

In the special case in which the generator is a straight line, the resulting surface is called a cylindrical surface.
Surfaces of translation with rectangular plan
Forms of curvature: Ruled surfaces : Ruled surfaces are generated by sliding each end of a straight line on their own
generating curve. These lines are not necessarily at right angle to the planes containing the end curves.
Non-developable surfaces (doubly curved) : e.g., sphere or hyperbolic paraboloid.
They are mainly classified as : 1) synclastic 2) anticlastic

Synclastic shells: these shells are doubly curved and have a similar curvature in each
direction.
E.g. domes a dome is a good example of a synclastic shell, it is doubly curved and can be
formed by rotating a curved line around an axis.
Anticlastic shells : are doubly curved but each of the two curves have the opposite direction to the other. E.g.
saddle points.
Conoids, Hyperbolic Paraboloid and Hyperboloids are all considered to the anticlastic shell because they are saddled shape
with different curvature in each direction and straight lines can be drawn of the surface.
Conoids: formed by moving one end of a straight line along a curved path and the other along a straight path.
Hyperboloids: formed by rotating a straight line around a vertical axis. Hyperboloid paraboloid
Types of Shells:
Vaults - like barrel vaults: can be Warped surfaces : like
shells if the thickness is minimal hyperbolic paraboloid shells
and reinforcement is given to
counter the tensile forces.

Domes Combinations : like

Barrel + Flat,
Folded plate + barrel,
Folded Plate + cone

Folded plate shells

Conoidal shells Lattice structures like

Solano Benitez's work
Developable surfaces (singly curved) : Developable surface is a surface that can be unrolled onto a flat plane
without tearing or stretching it.
It is formed by bending a flat plane, the most typical shape of a developable shell is a barrel, and a barrel shell is
curved only in one direction.

Barrel : arch action & beam action together make a barrel.

There are mainly two types of barrel : - long barrels , arch action is prominent -: structural behavior of
Long barrel shells: these are typically supported at the corners and behave structurally as a large
beam.

Barrel Vault Shell: Most common type of shell roof is a barrel vault. It can be 57 to 75 mm thk for spans
of 12 to 75 m

Types:
• Short Span Barrel Vault and
• Long span Barrel Vault
Short span barrel vaults have shorter span compared to the width
of the arch. Span here refers to the distance between the
columns.

Long span barrel vaults will have a longer span i.e longer distance
between the columns compared to the width of the arch.

Long span Barrel vault has a span two times the width ,height is
1/5th of width and short span the span is 1/5th the width , height
is 1/8th the width approximately.

In short barrels, beam action is prominent. These shells are

typically supported at the corners and can behave in one or a
combination of the following ways
Stiffening Beams and Edge Beams:

● Under local loads the thin shell of a barrel vault will tend to distort and lose shape to prevent this and strengthen the
shell stiffening beams or arches are cast integrally with the shell
● Due to self weight the thin shells will tend to spread and

its curvature flatten out . To resist this, reinforced

concrete edge beams are cast between columns as an

integral part of the shell Edge beams may be cast as

dropped beams or upstand beams or partly dropped

or partly upstand beams Expansion Joints

● With changes in temperature linear expansion or

contraction of these rigid concrete shells occurs. To

limit expansion and contraction continuous

expansion joints are formed at intervals of about 30.0

m both along the span and across the width of multi

bay multi span barrel vault roofs.

Shell roofs may be:

■ Single shells such as the dome of the Pantheon in Rome.

■ Multi-shell roofs such as Eero Saarinen’s JFK International Airport in New York.
■ Reinforced with structural ribs, such as Jørn Utzon’s Sydney Opera House.
■ Lattice structures, such as Norman Foster’s Great Court at the British Museum in London.
Single shells such as the dome of the Pantheon in Rome.
NYC - JFK Airport: TWA Flight Center
Architect: Eero Saarinen
 Sydney Opera House
Architects: Jørn Utzon, Peter Hall
Lattice structures, such as Norman Foster’s Great Court at the British Museum in London.
Roof of La Zarzuela Racetrack, Madrid, Spain
Architect: Eduardo Torroja
Palazzetto dello Sport in Rome
Architects: Pier Luigi Nervi
Oceanographic museum Valencia
Architect: Félix Candela
 Eladio Dieste selected projects.

From top to bottom and left to right:

Church of Cristo Obrero, Church of San Pedro, Roche, Caputto Fruit
Plant, “La Gaviota,” Montevideo Port Warehouse, Turlit Bus Terminal,
Gimnasio Don Bosco, Montevideo Shopping Center, ADF Wool
Warehouse.

Church of Cristo Obrero. Atlantida, Uruguay. 1958-60.

[Link]
[Link]

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[Link]
 Lotus Temple
Architect: Fariborz Sahba
Image source: [Link]
 Heydar Aliyev Centre, Baku, Azerbaijan
[Link]
Architects: Zaha Hadid
Drafting

• Long span - 4 groups 9m X 18m, 1.8 m rise

• Short span - 3 groups 1.8m X 9m , 1.125 m rise

• Key Plan, key section 1: 200 (long Span) 1:50 Short span

• Edge beam Detail 1:5

• Valley Detail1:5 (150 c/c reinforcement mat, 200 c/c towards the spring)

• Roof Light detail 1:5

• Expansion Joints =2

• Beam between two bay detail 1:10

Reference
● Structural System in Architecture, Prof. Shankha Pratim Bhattacharya

● Department of Architecture and Regional Planning Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur

● [Link]

● Barry ‘s The Construction of Buildings Volume -3