SHELL

STRUCTUR
INTRODUCTION
 Shell Structures is a thin, curved plate structure shaped to
transmit applied forces by compressive, tensile, and shear
stresses that act in the plane of the surface. They are usually
constructed of concrete reinforced with steel mesh.

 Structures, which keep their shape and support loads, even

without a frame, or solid mass material inside, are called shell
structures. These structures use a thin, carefully shaped, outer
layer of material, to provide their strength and rigidity. The shape
of a shell structure spreads forces throughout the whole structure,
which means every part of the structure supports only a small
part of the load, giving it its strength.
Examples include: igloos, egg , turtle shell, food or pop cans, or,
even bubbles in foam and cream puffs.
 Shell construction began in the
1920s; the shell emerged as a major
long-span concrete structure after
World War II. Thin parabolic shell
vaults stiffened with ribs have been
built with spans up to about 300 ft
(90 m). Pioneering thin-shell
designers include Felix Candela and
Pier Luigi Nervi.
Félix Candela
Outeriño (Spanish
pronunciation: [ ˈfeliks kan
ˈdela out ɾino ]; January 27,
1910 – December 7, 1997)
was a
Spanish architect known
for his significant role in the
development of Mexican
architecture and structural
engineering. Candela’s
major contribution to
architecture was the
development of thin
shells made out
of reinforced concrete. Félix
Candela died at the age of
87 in 1997 in North
Carolina.
 THIN SHELL
STRUCTURES
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. The shells are
most commonly flat plates
and domes, but may also take the
form of cylindrical sections.
 Concrete shell are light weight
constructions using shell elements.
These elements are typically curved
and are assembled to large
structures.
CONSTRUCTION:

 Construction of the thin shell concrete

structure would occur upon the completed
formwork. Reinforcement would first be
prepared and spaced from the formwork so
that it will be suspended in the center of the
shell structure. Fabric reinforcement would be
added for tensile strength and also as a
medium for the concrete to adhere to upon the
formwork, holding it in place until sufficiently
dried. Many assistants will be needed to
complete the task of construction.
Formwork construction by Felix Candela

Since no digital design and calculating equipment was available in that

time, the
mathematical formulas were not only essential for drawing and
calculating these structures, but also aided the actual construction
process. The majority of the thin concrete shell structures were
constructed by pouring wet concrete onto a rigid wooden formwork, often
assembled from straight elements. This construction process required
Composite materials can be sprayed (using compressed-air
driven sprayers), or poured, or packed directly onto a
reusable formwork (using hand methods). Simply pour from a
bucket, or apply from a scoop, and spread ,steel fibers for
high-tech applications where greater rigidity is desired.
ADVANTAGES:
 There are many advantages to shells, but
it is difficult to put a price on intangibles.
Shells offer uncluttered, clean, light, dust
free surfaces, resulting from the smooth
undersurface of shells that have no beams
or trusses. Other structures may require
hung ceilings, that can be avoided with a
shell roof. Certainly the increase in
efficiency of the workers in a building
should have a monetary value.
DIS-ADVANTAGES

 Since concrete is a porous material,

concrete domes often have issues
with sealing. If not treated, rainwater
can seep through the roof and leak
into the interior of the building. On
the other hand, the seamless
construction of concrete domes
prevents air from escaping.
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 centreIts interior was
conceived as a single
immense space illuminated
by a single round opening,
called an oculus, at the
highest point in the dome.
Sunken panels called
coffers line the domed
ceiling.
 One of the best-
known buildings by
Italian architect Pier
Luigi Nervi is a
stadium in Rome
known as the
Palazzetto dello
Sport (Small Sport
Palace). Encircled by
Y-shaped supporting
beams, this graceful
structure is topped
by a shallow concrete
dome. It was built for
the 1960 Olympic
Games.

Nervi’s Small Sport Palace, Rome

 Thin parabolic shell vaults and
Sydney opera house
even complex forms i.e.
by: Jorn Utzon hyperbolic paraboloids stiffened
with ribs have been built with
spans up to about 300 feet
(90m). Thickness of the shell with
this system can be achieved even
less than 0.5 inches (1.25cm)
thick. One of the most famous
example of this is Sydney Opera
House.
The shape of this majestic
structure has been achieve with
the help of plastic behaviour of
the material. In this, the shells
were constructed out of 2400
precast ribs and 4000 roof panels
in an on-site factory. By this
solution, they were able to avoid
the need for expensive formwork
construction.
The roof tiles were made out of
prefabricated sheets. The shells
were supported on adjustable
steel truss which supported the
GRIDSHELL STRUCTURE

A grid shell is a structure which

derives its strength from its double
curvature (in the same way that a
fabric structure derives strength
from double curvature), but is
constructed of a grid or lattice.
 The grid can be made of any
material, but is most often wood
(similar to garden trellis) or steel.
 (Gridshells, also known as lattice shells, were
originally pioneered by the Russian engineer
Vladimir Shukhov in 1896). Gridshells, are
basically shell structures where material has
been removed to create a slender lattice grid
pattern. Where in plain shells load paths are
available all over the surface, in gridshells the
internal forces are transferred via discrete
members. Inspired by the suspension models of
Antonio Gaudi, Frei Otto designed his gridshells
by inverting the form of a suspended soap film
or that of a flexible suspending net.
 Large span timber gridshells are commonly
constructed by initially laying out the main
lath members flat in a regular square or
rectangular lattice, and subsequently
deforming this into the desired doubly curved
form. This can be achieved by pushing the
members up from the ground. More recent
projects were constructed by laying the laths
on top of a sizeable temporary scaffolding
structure which is removed in phases to let
the laths settle into the desired curvature.
CONSTRUCTION:
 From construction point of view, the powerful
concept that lies behind gridshells is that the
construction starts from a flat surface. The straight
members are assembled on ground level as a flat
mesh. The final shape of the structure is obtained
by locally forcing (i.e. deforming by pushing and
pulling) the members perpendicular to the surface
and fixing the connections and boundaries once
the shell reached it desired (equilibrium) shape. To
allow this transformation to take place, the
connections of the grid need to be initially
‘flexible’, enabling scissor motion as well as sliding
motion.
From construction point of view, the powerful concept that lies behind gridshells is that the
construction starts from a flat surface. The straight members are assembled on ground level
as
a flat mesh. The final shape of the structure is obtained by locally forcing (i.e. deforming by
pushing and pulling) the members perpendicular to the surface and fixing the connections
and
boundaries once the shell reached it desired (equilibrium) shape. To allow this
transformation to take place, the connections of the grid need to be initially ‘flexible’,
enabling scissor motion as well as sliding motion.
Yas Viceroy Abu Dhabi Hotel is located within the Yas Marina
Circuit, Abu Dhabi. The Hotel, designed by Hani Rashid and Lise
Anne Couture , principals of New York based Asymptote Architecture,
consists of two twelve story hotel towers, one set within the race
circuit and another placed in the Marina itself, linked together by
a monocoque steel and glass bridge and Grid Shell structure that
both cross above and over the Yas Marina Circuit F1 race track.
Asymptote Architects and Arup
Lighting devised a frit pattern on
the grid shell’s glass panels to
diffuse light and reduce glare,
and integrated a custom-
designed LED fixture atop each
structural node. And at night it
becomes a canvas for animated
light displays.
Multihalle in Mannheim, a Base of the Swiss Re building
wooden gridshell structure at 30 St Mary Axe
designed by Frei Otto
 A geodesic dome is a
spherical or partial-
spherical shell structure or
lattice shell based on a
network of great
circles(geodesics) on the
surface of a sphere. The
geodesics intersect to
form triangular elements
that have local triangular
rigidity and also distribute
The Montréal Biosphère, formerly the stress across the
the American Pavilion ofExpo 67, structure. When completed
by R. Buckminster Fuller to form a complete sphere,
it is a geodesic sphere.
CLASSIFICATION OF SHELL
STRUCTURES
Types and Forms of Shell
Structures

I - CYLINDRICAL BARREL VAULTS

 ll- DOMES
 III - WARPED SURFACES
 MULTIPLE BARRELS - OUTSIDE STIFFENERS

I - CYLINDRICAL BARREL VAULTS

Barrel vaults are perhaps the most useful of the shell structures
because they can span upt o 150 feet with a minimum of material.
They are very efficient structures because the use the arch form to
reduce stresses and thicknesses in the transverse direction.

THE LAZY S
CORRUGATED CURVES
Barrel Shell for Bakery
This roof system has multiple bays in each direction. A unit is
composed of two circular elements as shown. The shell was
formed with a fixed form at the small circle at the columns and
a movable form for the large circle. There are no horizontal ties
at the columns. Shells are ideal for bakeries because of the
hard surfaces and few horizontal surfaces to catch dust
 II-DOMES
Dome (architecture), a roof or vault, usually hemispherical in form.
Until the 19th century, domes were constructed of masonry and of
wood.

MULTIPLE DOMES
HALF SPHERE - VERTICAL
WALLS DOMES
Nervi’s Small Sport Palace, Rome
One of the best-known buildings by Italian architect Pier Luigi Nervi is a stadium in Rome known as the Palazzetto dello Sport (Small Sport
Palace). Encircled by Y-shaped supporting beams, this graceful structure is topped by a shallow concrete dome. It was built for the 1960 Olympic
Games.
Domes for a shopping center
These translation domes are each about 40 feet square. and are there
four elements in one direction and nine in the other. There are no interior
ties at the springing of the domes and thrusts are carried by diagonal
braces at the exterior. Movable forms were used and units were four
elements wide. Each element was formed by four bowstring trusses
which could be reused for a typical bowstring industrial building.
III - WARPED SURFACES
Warped surfaces have a great advantage for shell structures because
they may be formed from straight form boards even though they are
surfaces of double curvature. There are two types which are most
useful: the conoid, which, as its name suggests, is a portion of a
cone, and the hyperbolic paraboloid, a name for a particular
mathematical surface.

CONOID
HYPERBOLIC PARABOLOID SHAPE
THE GROINED VAULT
Les Manantiales Restaurant in Xochimilco Mexico
City by Felix Candela
THANK
YOU!