Methods for transforming flat concrete plates into double curved shell structures

摘要

Over the last few years, different methods for building shells by using a combination of pneumatic formwork and post-tensioning technologies have been investigated at Vienna University of Technology. The idea behind all these construction methods is to build ice and concrete shells with double curvature originating from an initially plane plate. The various construction methods will be presented and the experiments on spherical shells with base diameters of approximately 10m will be described. The advantages and disadvantages of individual methods will be explained and a proposal for a new construction method will be presented. A patent application for the new construction method has been submitted by Vienna University of Technology in November 2011. A description of the method and a feasibility study will be presented in this paper.