Design of Shells

Definition
Shell:

A curved surface having small thickness compared to the radius and other
dimensions.

Cylindrical Shell:

These are shells in which the generatrix (moving curve) or the directrix (stationary
curve) is a straight line. For cylindrical shells, the common curves used are the arc
of a circle, semi ellipse, parabola or catenary. The various structural components of
a cylindrical shell are thin shell, edge beam and end frame or transverse.
Components of the cylindrical shell
General specifications of shells:
• Thickness (t) : Shall not be less than 50 mm and should be in between 80mm to 120mm

• Span & Chord Width: Span should not be greater than 30m. Width of edge beam is limited to

2 to 3 times the thickness of shell.

• Depth of shell: For large span shells depth = 1/6 to 1/12 span.

• Semi central angle: The semi central angle should be in the range of 30 to 45 degrees.

• Reinforcement in the shell: The diameter of reinforcement should not exceed 10mm for

50mm thick shell and 12mm for 65mm thick shell and 16mm for shells having thickness

greater than 65mm. The spacing of bars should not be more than five times the thickness of

the shell. Minimum clear cover must be 12mm or the nominal size of the reinforcement bar.

Generally minimum reinforcement of 0.15% of the gross cross section in the principal

direction is recommended for thin shell structures.

• Shell joints: The construction joints are provided at length not exceeding 40m.
Analysis of shells:

• Membrane Theory

• Beam Theory
• Membrane Theory:

– The membrane theory was formulated by Dischinger with the

assumption that the shell is regarded as perfectly flexible membrane

of infinite extent, carrying direct forces in its plane only.

– Over a limited zone at sufficient distance away from the boundaries,

the stresses in the shell slab approach a distribution which is statically

determinate and may be found by the membrane theory.

– This procedure is applicable to shells whose span to radius ratio is less

than 0.5.
• Beam Theory:

– In the beam theory developed by Lundgren the shell is analysed as beam of

curved cross section spanning between the end frames or traverse.

– In the case of long shells, the longitudinal force components are predominant

and hence the beam theory is ideally suited for the analysis. The beam theory

is generally applicable to cylindrical shells of (L/R) ratio exceeding the value of

PI.

– In the beam theory the cross sections of the shell is assumed with or without

edge beam and the sectional properties are determined and the stresses are

computed using the beam theory.

– An arch analysis is also conducted to determine the transverse moments and

thrusts so that suitable reinforcement is designed.

Thank you