Shell and Folded Plate
Structures
Prepared by:
Ar. Emmanuel Plan
Instructor, BT5
Shell Structures
Shell Structures
• Thin, curved plate structures
shaped to transmit applied
forces by membrane stresses.
• Can sustain relatively large
forces if uniformly applied.
• Because of its thinness, it has
low bending resistance and not
best for concentrated loads.
• Typically constructed of
reinforced concrete and usually
used as roofs.
Types of Shell Structures
• Translational surfaces are
generated by sliding a plane curve
along a straight line or over
another plane curve.
• Barrel shells are cylindrical shell
structures.
• If long enough, it behaves as a deep
beam with a curved section spanning
in the longitudinal direction.
• If short, it exhibits arch-like action.
Types of Shell Structures
• Ruled surfaces are generated by
the motion of a straight line.
• A hyperbolic paraboloid or
hypar is a surface generated by
sliding a parabola with
downward curvature along a
parabola with upward
curvature, or by sliding a
straight line segment with its
ends on two skew lines
Types of Shell Structures
• Ruled surfaces are generated by
the motion of a straight line.
• Saddle surfaces have an upward
curvature in one direction and a
downward curvature in the
perpendicular direction.
• In a saddle-surfaced shell structure,
regions of downward curvature
exhibit arch-like action, while
regions of upward curvature
behave as a cable structure.
Types of Shell Structures
• Rotational surfaces are generated
by rotating a plane curve about an
axis.
• Spherical, elliptical, and parabolic
dome surfaces are examples of
rotational surfaces.
Types of Shell Structures
• Gridshells consist of discrete members connecting nodal
points that lie on the surface of an imaginary shell.
• Due to the presence of some bending stresses,
members are required to resist loading through their
cross section.
Shell structure composition
• Any number of formal and spatial compositions
can be created by combining geometric surfaces.
• The intersection of any two shells should be
coincident and continuous.
Dome
• A dome is a spherical surface
structure having a circular
plan.
• A dome is similar to a rotated
arch except that circumferential
forces are developed which are
compressive near the crown
and tensile in the lower portion.
Dome
• Hoop forces, are compressive in
the upper zone and tensile in the
lower zone.
• A tension ring encircles the base
of a dome to contain the outward
components of the meridional
forces.
• Tension ring is thickened and
reinforced to handle the bending
stresses.
Shell thickness
• The thin shell’s thickness and reinforcement
must be proportioned to satisfy the strength
provisions, so as to resist internal forces
• Depends on the shape of the shell, size or span
of the shell, and the strength of concrete,
environmental issues and fire protection
requirements.
• Thickness can start right from 3 cm.
• High strength concrete mixtures can greatly
reduce the thickness of concrete shells.
• Long-span shells can be strengthened by ribs
depending on the shape, size and concrete
strength. This will reduce large deflections and
will also add to the strength of the shell.
• bidirectional rib networks placed on the inside
face of the surface.
• box cross sections provided with bidirectional ribs
inside the surface.
Shell thickness
Shell Reinforcements
• Enhance the homogeneity of concrete
throughout the entire shell surface
and to take care of tensile stresses.
• Reinforcement take care of shrinkage
and temperature stresses, limiting
crack width, and its spacing.
• Additional reinforcement is required
in edge beams and ribs and also
around openings and at locations of
load attachments.
• Steel provided to resist the tensile
stresses is assumed to act at the
middle shell surface.
Shell Reinforcements
• Shells with 8cm thickness should be
reinforced with two overlapped layers of
steel bars, ensuring the needed concrete
covering.
• Two layers at top/bottom faces are
preferred to resist possible local bending
moments.
• In shells whose thickness is around 4 cm
thick, the reinforcement can be provided in
the middle surface in two perpendicular
directions.
• Steel or carbon fiber reinforcement may
be effective to reduce the concrete
shrinkage, as well to improve its
homogeneity and compactness. Fiber
reinforcement can be effectively used to
reduce the shrinkage cracks.
Shell Concreting
• Proper behavior of the shell depends on
the mechanical properties of concrete and
hence on strict quality control of concrete.
• The concrete placing should produce a
smooth dense solid texture on the
undersurface of the shell with no pockets
or honey-combing.
• Concreting should be done starting from
the supporting beams and stiffening beams
working upwards from lower end to higher
end.
• Construction joints should preferably be
located in zones of compressive stresses
and the concreting should be done in a
symmetrical manner and treated with
bonding agents.
Shell Concreting
Folded Plate Structures
Plate Structures
• Plate structures are rigid, planar, often
monolithic structures that disperse
applied loads in a multidirectional pattern.
• A plate can be envisioned as a series of
adjacent beam strips interconnected
continuously along their lengths.
• Structures in which strength is obtained
by shaping the material according to the
loads they must carry (Salvadori, 1963).
• “Origami architecture” / “Origami
Construction”
Plate Structures
• Composed of thin, deep elements joined
rigidly along their boundaries and forming
sharp angles to brace each other against
lateral buckling.
• Vertical diaphragms or rigid frames stiffen a
folded plate against deformation of the fold
profile.
• Loads generally following the shortest and
stiffest routes to the supports.
• As an applied load is transmitted to the
supports through bending of one beam strip,
the load is distributed over the entire plate by
vertical shear transmitted from the deflected
strip to adjacent strips.
Plate Structures – theory (Siegel, 1961)
• Form-resistant structure
• Thin Shell
• Folded Plate
Plate Structures – theory (Siegel, 1961)
• A piece of paper without any fold could not carry its own
weight.
• After being folded the paper can not only stand between
the gap, but also carry some extra weight.
• When the load is being added, the folded paper need to be
stiffened.
• After the edges were stiffened, the structure could carry
more load.
Plate Structures – parts
• The inclined plates
• Edge plates – stiffens the
wide plate
• Stiffeners – supports and
holed the plates in line
• Columns – and/or supports
to transmit the load to the
ground
Plate Structures – based on support
Plate Structures – based on shapes
• Folded plate surfaces
• Folded plate frames
• Spatial folded plate
Plate Structures – roof form types
• 3-segment folded plate
• Z- shell
• Canopies
• Tapered
Plate Structures – roof form types
• Edge-supported
• Folded plate truss
• Folded plate rigid frame
• Continuous wall with shell
Reinforcing Plate Structures
• A combination of 1-way slab and longitudinal beam action.
• Load is transferred to the surface of the folded slab and to the
longitudinal beam
Reinforcing Plate Structures