Modern computer simulation for the design of concrete catenary shell structures

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to model and design a concrete catenary shell using a modern computer program without performing experiments. The modeling idea stems from the study by Pendergrast, but he listed supplementary items that should be improved in his paper. This study aims to resolve those issues and overcome the drawbacks of the study by Pendergrast. The process of experiment for the design of a catenary shell was reproduced by Grasshopper script. In order to ensure credibility, two models designed from the Grasshopper script were analyzed using a finite element program, SAP2000; one is a square-based catenary shell and the other is a special catenary shell called as the Naturtheater Grotzingen shell, which was completed in 1977. First, the developed modeling approach was proved to be reasonable from the analysis of the squarebased shell. The reliability was further confirmed by a comparison between the current and previous analysis results for the Naturtheater Grotzingen shell.