Skeleton shells : developing a standard component to simplify the construction process of concrete shells

Abstract

The adoption of efficient structural systems such as shells and domes has reduced drastically, not through such structures being inadequate, but through the difficulty in constructing such structures. Through the course of this research, novel methods of design and construction of such systems will be explored in order to make them once again an attractive proposition for developers. This work seeks to propose a system to provide an alternative process to construct shell structures in a more efficient manner. The proposal entails the development of a skeletal shell to be created, which can act as a permanent structural support for a membrane which would constitute the shell or for a temporary support for a more traditional shell to be constructed. Such a system would be composed of prefabricated elements which can be assembled on site without the use of extensive falsework. As part of this research, the system being proposed is also assessed from a structural and logistical aspect, in order to better understand the feasibility of the proposal. This assessment takes into consideration the stability, and load bearing capacity of the system, the fabrication process of the respective elements being presented and the construction sequence being proposed. The findings of this research show the proposed shell skeleton can be constructed without the need for external support, through the skeleton post tensioning sequence. This entails that the system can act as both temporary and permanent support in shell construction.