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Website: www.ijetae.com (ISSN 2250-2459, ISO 9001:2008 Certified Journal, Volume 6, Issue 8, August 2016)
3rd Year B.Tech, Civil Engineering, Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal -576104
2
Chief Engineer, DMRC, Karshaka Road, Kochi- 682016
This advantage of domes provides unprecedented
structures for covering areas where we have minimal
interference of internal supports. Their geometrical form,
self-supporting condition with stiffness has enabled their
use in both ancient and modern architectural works.
Today, domes have provided structural economic solutions
for exhibition halls, concert halls and swimming pools that
require large covered spaces. Many an elegant structures
also utilize domes for their splendid and aesthetic
appearance. It will be appropriate to trace the evolution of
domes over the years which this paper deals in its initial
parts.
Modern domes come in various forms or types of
latticed domes such as the Schwedler domes, geodesic
domes and lamella domes. Among the several types we
would like to consider the geodesic and monolithic domes
which are finding wide applications today. What
characterizes the geodesic dome is its hemispherical thinshell structure (lattice-shell) based on a network of
geodesics (great circles) on the surface of a sphere or a
hemisphere. The intersect of the geodesics, forms triangular
elements, which have local and triangular rigidity. This
helps to distribute the structural stress throughout the
geodesic sphere. On the other hand, the monolithic dome
which essentially is a structure cast in a one-piece form is
quite similar to the igloo of the Eskimos. The Igloo is
constructed of blocks of compressed snow. Over a period
of time, these blocks melt and re-freeze to form a strong
and homogeneous structure. The Monolithic dome provides
the twin advantage of both good insulation and great
strength. The strength resulting from the natural strength of
the arch, and the insulation on account of the minimal
surface area. In this paper the key advantages and
disadvantages are described for Geodesic and Monolithic
domes - the two popular domes of today.
I. INTRODUCTION
Domes are hemispherical structures that takes its
evolution from the arch and has found popularity for roofs
and ceilings. Their use during ancient times have been
documented as round huts and ancient tombs in the shape
of solid mounds that have been found in the Middle East,
Mediterranean region and India. It was the Romans who
introduced the large-scale masonry hemisphere of yester
years. Because the dome exerts forces all around its
perimeter, the early structures such as the Roman Pantheon
employed the use of heavy supporting walls. Domes
provide unimpeded wide spaces; in other words from
minimum surface the maximum amount of area.
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A. Disaster proof
To know how domes effectively distribute forces
laterally the following three reasons are considered key.
The first and most important reason being that movements
that are strong enough to get a dome to sway will not
produce areas of the structure that have no support against
gravity, the reason being that the base is much wider than
the top. The second reason is that domes are capable of
naturally distributing forces in all directions and hence the
design itself is best in dissipating energy. For the third
reason, mostly the mass of the dome lies low and helps in
lowering the centre of gravity. The lowering of the centre
of gravity drastically reduces the chance of the collapse of
the dome. For these reasons, domes are found to be suitable
for the Polar Regions as they can withstand extremely low
temperatures and high winds.
Domes are superior to traditionally constructed buildings
by their strength, superior building materials, its ergonomic
shape, virtually unaffected by time, withstanding seismic
activity or man-made assault and assaults of weather
changes. Dome constructions of today are meeting
standards that are near-absolute survivability. Community
hit by earthquakes, tornadoes or hurricanes, however
infrequent they may be, should construct large dome
structures near their town or villages where they can gather
and seek shelter when natural calamities occur. A good
example is the city of Tupelo, Mississippi where they have
constructed dome shelters. Hence, domes are the most
disaster-resistant structures that can be built having priceto-value ratio more favourable than traditional construction.
B. Energy efficiency
A sphere is the most efficient shape that covers
maximum living area with the least amount of surface area.
If one was to compare a similar sized dome home and a
rectangular house, the dome home will have a surface area
that will be 30 percent lesser. Thus dome structures can
help save the environment from wasted energy. From the
energy perspective domes are relevant in several ways.
The decreased surface area results in use of lesser
building materials.
On account of the lesser surface area the exposure of
domes to the cold during winter and heat during summer
is decreased.
Flow of air is even with return air ducts, be it hot or cold
air due to the concave interior.
Extreme wind turbulence is lowered as the winds that
contribute to heat loss, flow smoothly around the dome.
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Feature
Dome Roofs
Vulnerable to
Transverse loads.
Deformation
Resistance to
Explosion
Materials
usually used
PVC Membrane ,
TPO
Membrane,
EPDM,
Rubber
Membrane, Modified
Bitumen,
Rolled
roofing [7]
Future
Expansion
Future expansion of
the living space an
easy option, since
patios, gardens or
even penthouse rooms
can be added [7]
Expenses
177
Flat Roofs
Seismic
stability
E. Edge forces
The edge forces (bending and shear) appear at the
boundaries of a shell, they are dependent on the support
conditions. Thickness of the shell locally can be increased
in order to control these edge conditions. For aesthetic and
cost factors this solution may not be valid and therefore an
alternative solution can be used by employing suitable
amounts of reinforcement. The amount of reinforcement is
related to the shape and corresponds to the ultimate limit
states and serviceability of the chosen shape. Analysis of
shear forces and bending moments are used to determine
appropriate amounts.
F. Cracking of domes
Although cracking indicates signs of failure, not all
cracks will lead to collapse as seen in case of St Peters,
Rome. Further analysis is required to determine the
stability of the structure in case yielding occurs due to
compressive forces in the dome.
A. Insufficient thickness
A minimum thickness of 4.2% of the radius is required
to ensure the thrust line remains inside the masonry [9].
This thickness ensures that equilibrium is maintained and
that there is no distortion. If the dome does not embrace
the full 180 degrees, the required minimum thickness falls
sharply.
B. Buckling.
Buckling needs to be considered in areas of largest
compression (normally at the crown of a shell) and
minimum curvature, taking into consideration the nonlinear behaviour of concrete, creep strains of concrete and
the initial imperfections [10].
C. Slope
An angle of <20 degrees is not viable in design [10]. A
slope of this inclination would induce high stresses
resulting in buckling. It may also prevent the even curing of
concrete.
D. The inner forces
In case of domes the membrane in plane tensile forces
are low and can be supported by minimal reinforcement,
however post tensioning might be required at the equator to
support the presence of large tensile forces. Additionally,
cracks may occur as a result of shrinkage due to
insufficient reinforcement at the dome base junctions.
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TABLE 2
Popular large Geodesic Domes
No.
Name
Location
Diameter (m)
1.
Fantasy
entertainment
complex
216
Multi-purpose
arena
Nagoya, Japan
187
Tacoma dome
161
Superior dome
Northern Michigan
Univ Marquette,
MI, USA
160
Walkup skydome
Northern Arizona
Univ. Flagstaff,
AZ, USA
153
179
180
181
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[9]
[10]
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