MSc Civil Engineering

Student: Dinara Ibrayeva

A comparative study of the
Supervisor: Sarah Fray
analysis methods for thin
UCL Department of Civil,
Environmental and Geomatic
Engineering concrete shells
Introduction Results
Background Direct forces 𝑵𝒙 and 𝑵𝒚 , tangential shear force 𝑵𝒙𝒚
(a) 𝑁𝑥
Thin concrete shell structures found a wide application in covering long Membrane Bending FE
spans in a very effective and elegant way using the membrane action Theory Theory Abaqus

of curved surfaces. After 1970s, there was a marked decline of

concrete shells in construction and academia due to the increasing
labor costs. (b) 𝑁𝑦

In recent years, with the developments in computational design, many

designers set the trends for freeform shapes in modern architecture,
which were however delivered using rather inefficient structural
schemes. With such strong interest for curved shapes and the current (c) 𝑁𝑥𝑦

innovations in construction technologies and materials science, it is fair 𝑁𝑥 at the midspan 𝑁𝑦 at the midspan 𝑁𝑥𝑦 at the edge
to claim that concrete shells shall experience a revival.
Figure 5. Solutions for the distribution of 𝑁𝑥 , 𝑁𝑦 and 𝑁𝑥𝑦
in longitudinal direction.
Project Scope
Figure 6. Abaqus output for
This project examines membrane forces.
the current design
Bending moments 𝑴𝒙 and 𝑴𝒚
practice using finite (a) 𝑀𝑥

element (FE) modelling

for the analysis of
concrete shells by
(b) 𝑀𝑦
comparing it to the
analytical methods used
back in 20th century.
Figure 1. Smithfield Market’s dome shell roof (Solomon, 2015). Cylindrical approximation Bending Theory Abaqus
(Pinned Edge)

• A comparative study of analysis methods is conducted on a case of Figure 7. Solutions for the distribution of 𝑀𝑦
a dome shell roof of Smithfield Poultry Market in London. at midspan in longitudinal direction. Figure 8. Abaqus output for
bending moments.
• Additionally, this research assesses an original roof design by
investigating the impact of the geometric parameters and boundary Buckling load 𝑷𝒄𝒓
conditions. Table 1. Linear critical buckling load for
different model specifications.
(N/m2)
Data and Methodology Model test
Mode 1 Mode 2 Mode 3 Mode 4 Mode 5

9097
Abaqus E=31 GPa 13060 13066 13089 13101 13137
Smithfield Market’s dome shell roof has a shape of elliptic paraboloid Abaqus E=21 GPa 7522 7527 7542 7550 7574
with geometric parameters as shown on Figure 2. Abaqus Openings 12962 12984 12994 13002 13127
Figure 9. Abaqus output for
Material characteristics used in the design: buckling failure mode.

• Young’s modulus = 31 GPa • Poisson’s ratio = 0.20.

Parametric Study
The structure was analysed for the action of uniformly distributed • Reducing the thickness and increasing the rise resulted in general
vertical load 3641N/m2 including dead and snow load. reduction of the membrane forces and the bending moments.
(m)
z
x 𝑀𝑦
• The change in boundary conditions from pinned edges to fixed did
y
𝑁𝑦𝑥
𝑁𝑦 𝑥
not reduce the moments considerably.
𝑀𝑥
𝑁𝑥𝑦
19.47 34.29
𝑁𝑥

𝑦
𝑀𝑥
Conclusion
3.05
6.10 𝑀𝑦
𝑁𝑥𝑦 𝑁𝑥 Finite element modelling proved to be a reliable tool for the analysis of
THK 76-172 mm 𝑁𝑦𝑥 the concrete shell roof as it provided results in line with the analytical
𝑁𝑦 methods used in the original design.
Figure 3. Variables considered in the comparison
Figure 2. Geometric parameters of the shell roof.
shown on a shell element. • FEA results for the in-plane forces followed the membrane theory
model throughout most of the shell’s surface with substantial
The study is based on the comparison of the results for the distribution deviation taking place only in the edge zones. To model the behavior
of internal forces shown on Figure 3 obtained by different analysis in the edge zones, Abaqus was found to follow the bending theory
methods: membrane theory, bending theory, FE analysis. Results for trends. FEA results for bending moments were found to be highly
the ultimate capacity obtained from the original model test are set credible matching the results from the bending theory model.
against the results provided by Abaqus. Figure 4 summarizes the • FEA results for the failure mode and the critical buckling load did not
analysis models taken into consideration for different sets of variables. ideally agree with the model test results which can be mainly
attributed to the idealization of the model in Abaqus and material
Direct forces 𝑵𝒙 and 𝑵𝒚 , Bending moments 𝑴𝒙
Buckling load 𝑷𝒄𝒓 imperfections present in the scale model.
tangential shear force 𝑵𝒙𝒚 and 𝑴𝒚
• For a more comprehensive parametric study, introduction of a cost-
Membrane Theory
Bending Theory for
Model test results
benefit aspect can be recommended. In particular, the efficiency of
cylindrical shells
(1960s) the design could be assessed with respect to the total material
Bending Theory for elliptic paraboloid by Beles and Soare (Jones and Base) volume required.

Modelling in Abaqus FEA software

It was shown on the case of Smithfield market roof that FE software, in
particular – Abaqus – is reliable and can be effectively used for the
*modelled in Matlab analysis of concrete shells with a potential for analyzing more complex
Figure 4. Variable and approaches considered in the comparative study. and sophisticated forms in high demand in modern architecture.
Ahm, P., and Perry, E.J., 1965. Design of the dome shell roof for Smithfield Poultry market. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers - Jones, L.L. and Base, G.D., 1965. Test on a one-twelfth scale model of the dome shell roof for Smithfield Poultry Market. Proceedings of the Institution of Civil
Structures and Buildings, 30(1), pp.79-130. Engineers- Structures and Buildings, 30(1), pp. 109-130.
Beles, A.A, and Soare, M.V., 1976. Elliptic and hyperbolic paraboloidal shells used in constructions. 4th ed. Bucharest: Editura Academiei Române. Solomon, K., 2015. Smithfield Market’s dome shell roof [image online] Available at: < https://media.timeout.com/images/102984052/750/422/image.jpg>
Billington, D.P., 1982. Thin shell concrete structures. 2nd ed. New York; London: McGraw-Hill.