Analysis Comparison for Single Curved Shell Roofs

Analysis comparisons for single cylindrical shells show that the ordinary folded plate theory with correction for relative joint displacements gives adequate results, except for the moments, if the sides-ratio is bigger than about five. Using folded plate analysis methods based on the theory of elasticity gives adequate results for sides-ratio bigger than about two. The latter method is especially useful for the analysis of flat and short shells of non-circular shape, for which no solutions by shell theory exist. Analysis comparisons for V-shaped folded plates show that the ordinary theory is applicable throughout the feasible design range, i.e., even for sides-ratios as small as two. Only the moment might require some adjustment subsequent to the rigorous analysis for sides-ratios smaller than five, depending on the width of the outer plate. Results considering and neglecting Poisson's ratio are compared. They show that this ratio may be neglected for design purposes.