Thin-shell concrete dome built economically with rotating forming and shoring system

Twenty-four-segment dome uses only six forms

BY FRANK RANDALL AND ANNE SMITH

panning 270 feet, the thinshell concrete dome topping the Sundome stadium in Yakima, Washington, has 24 wedge-shaped segments arranged in a radial pattern like the pieces of a pie. But only six wood forms we re needed to cast the 24 segments because of an inn ova t i ve rotating forming and shoring system. The Sundome, which opened to the public in January 1990, is a multipurpose exhibition and sport facility thats part of the Central Washington State Fairgrounds. The entire 90,000-square-foot structure is reinforced concrete including the exterior walls, which are made of insulated concrete masonry units. The stadium was designed by s t ru c t u ral engineer Jack Christiansen, who also designed Seattles Kingdome sports stadium, completed in 1976. The thin-shell concrete dome capping this stadium is more than twice the size of the Sundome roof and is the largest concrete dome in the world. Its 670 feet in diameter and has forty 5-inch-thick concrete segments. Compared with monolithic concrete domes, segmental thin-shell construction offers greater forming economy. The segments are cast individually so forms can be reused. The Sundome roof was cast using six site-built wood forms supported on a movable aluminum shoring system. This system allowed use of the forms four times to cast the domes 24 segments (see drawing).

Drawings show positioning of the six forms during each of the four casting stages. The colored segments in stages two, three, and four indicate the new form positions.

Wood saddles resting on aluminum strongback beams are ready for joists and curved plywood deck.

CONCRETE VERSUS FABRIC DOMES

Although fabric domes have become popular in recent years for topping large stadiums, concrete was chosen for the Sundome roof because it offers the following advantages: Economy. Fabric domes are more expensive than thin-shell concrete domes. Thin-shell concrete construction uses minimum quantities of concrete and rebar. The Sundome roof cost only $14 per square foot, including matericosts. Noncombustible membrane materials are available for fabric domes but these materials are expensive. Durability. Concrete domes are durable, weather resistant, and require little maintenance. Fabric domes, on the other hand, can fail if the membrane material used is inadequate for the roofs performance needs. This is especially true for long-span roofs. The cost of replacing a failed mem-

vent buckling and increase the domes load capacity, 12-inch-thick, 30-inch-deep concrete ribs reinforce the segment edges.

Forming and shoring details

The six forms used to cast the dome segments each consisted of wood saddles supporting a curved deck. Workers built the decks of straight 2x12-inch wood joists sheathed with 34-inch-thick plywood. To produce the saddleshaped curvature required, they angled the joists according to detailed design drawings. Supporting the forms were aluminum shoring towers consisting of 6-foot truss sections with 4 12-foot extension legs topped by 5- and 6foot shoring frames with tubular bracing. Workers assembled the shoring frames on the ground then stacked them on the trusses using c ra n e s. Strongback beams on the uppermost shoring frames supported the wood saddles. Shell segments were cast at intervals of about 60 around the roof to equalize thrusting at the tension and compression rings. Cast before segment erection, the 10-foot-diameter compression ring was supported by a stationary shoring tower. The tension ring was post-tensioned after casting and curing of the first six segments. Workers pumped concrete for each shell segment in a continuous pour starting at the tension ring and ending at the compression ring. It took 4 to 5 hours to place concrete for one segment. The concrete ribs were cast the following day.

This construction cost summary for the Sundome includes materials, labor, and equipment for the roof shell, ribs, and tension ring (Ref. 3). It does not include costs for insulation and roofing, columns, foundations, or walls. Total construction cost of the Sundome was $6.5 million. als and labor (see table). The average cost of a fabric dome, either air-supported or cable truss, is more than $30 per square foot (Ref. 1). Fire resistance. Concrete domes are fire resistant. This reduces fire protection system requirements and lowers insurance brane can exceed the total cost of the original roof including the support structure (Ref. 1). Can be built with local materials. Most of the materials required to build a concrete dome are readily available locally. And local labor usually can handle the construction. crete tension ring supported on 24 reinforced concrete columns. The segments are 4 12 inches thick in the lower 18 feet and 3 inches thick the rest of their length. Each segment is doubly curved like a saddle. This curvature increases the buckling stability of the dome. To further pre-

Shoring rolls on casters

After casting the first six shell segments and allowing them to attain the required strength, workers stripped the formwork and rolled the entire forming and shoring assembly to the next casting position. To lower the shoring, workers used ten 54-inch hydraulic rams. Clamped to truss extension legs, the rams were activated with a single pump until they supported shoring

Structural design
The Sundome roof has a rise of 40 feet and a maximum clear height above the floor of 80 feet. Its 24 identical wedge-shaped segments arch to a compression ring at the crown of the roof and their bases are stabilized by a post-tensioned con-

the next position. While two forklifts pulled the caster-mounted shoring, workers used steering levers attached to the casters to help guide caster movement. Once the shoring was in position, the hydraulic rams raised the shoring to the proper elevation. Workers then removed the channel sections and caster assemblies. This rotation process was repeated two more times to complete casting of the 24 dome segments.
References 1. Dr. David H. Geiger, A Cost Comparison of Roof Systems for Sports Halls. 2. Jack Christiansen, Hyperbolic Paraboloid Thin-shell Concrete Structures for Sports Buildings. (The above papers appear in Space Structures for Sports Buildings: Proceedings of the International Colloquium on Space Structures for Sports Buildings, October 27-30, 1987, Beijing, China, edited by Tien T. Lan and Yuan Zhilian, Science Press, 1987) 3. Jack Christiansen, Economy of Hyperbolic Paraboloid Concrete Shells, Concrete International, August 1990, American Concrete Institute, P.O. Box 19150, Detroit, Ml 48219.

Radiating from a central compression ring, the first six shell segments have just been cast. After stripping formwork, workers will rotate the entire forming and shoring assembly to the next casting position.

After workers lower shoring onto swivel casters, like the one shown here, they can roll it to the next position. The caster rides in a curved steel channel. A worker guides the caster using an attached steering lever. loads and relieved jacks on truss extension legs. After raising the jacks, workers lowered the shoring onto double aluminum strongback beams supported on heavy-duty swivel casters. The casters rode in 8-inch-wide steel channel sections that had been shop-bent to the required radius. Workers bolted together the 12foot-long sections to achieve the length needed to roll the shoring to

Credits St ru c t u ral engineer: Jack Christiansen, Seattle Architect: Loofburrow Architects, Yakima, WA General contractor: Gilbert H. Moen Co., Yakima, WA Fo rm w o rk / s h o ring subcontractor: The Burke Co., Kent, WA Publication # C910490
Copyright 1991, The Aberdeen Group. All rights reserved