A thin shell is defined as a shell with a thickness which is small compared to its other dimensions and in which deformations are not large compared to thickness. A primary difference between a shell structure and a plate structure is that, in the unstressed state, the shell structure has curvature as opposed to the plates structure which is flat. Membrane action in a shell is primarily caused by in-plane forces (plane stress), but there may be secondary forces resulting from flexural deformations. Where a flat plate acts similar to a beam with bending and shear stresses, shells are analogous to a cable which resists loads through tensile stresses. The ideal thin shell must be capable of developing both tension and compression.2
The most popular types of thin-shell structures are:
Persons related:
O.C. Zienkiewicz and R.L. Taylor. The finite element method for solid and structural mechanics. ↩
Chen, Wai-Fah; Lui, E. M., eds. (2005-02-28). Handbook of Structural Engineering, Second Edition (2 ed.). Boca Raton: CRC Press. ISBN 9780849315695. 9780849315695 ↩