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Shell Structures in Civil and Mechanical Engineering: Theory and Analysis, Second edition

Author(s): Alphose Zingoni

£119.00
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Publication date: 14 December 2017
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Shell Structures in Civil and Mechanical Engineering,;joint;winner of;the University of Cape Town Book Award for 2019, comprehensively covers the theories governing the membrane and bending behaviour of thin elastic shells. It applies these theories to obtain practical solutions for a wide variety of shell structures encountered in the civil and me

Shell Structures in Civil and Mechanical Engineering, joint winner of the University of Cape Town Book Award for 2019, comprehensively covers the theories governing the membrane and bending behaviour of thin elastic shells. It applies these theories to obtain practical solutions for a wide variety of shell structures encountered in the civil and mechanical engineering disciplines. Through a detailed examination of the mathematical solutions, the treatment reveals important insights on the mechanics of the shell, allowing the designer to make more informed choices.

Shell Structures in Civil and Mechanical Engineering:

• presents a thorough discussion of the applicability and limitations of the membrane hypothesis in the context of the more general bending theory of shells
• develops the membrane and bending theories of shells, and presents a wealth of closed-form mathematical results for a wide range of shell structures, including junction problems
• includes design considerations and parametric findings for domes, shell roofs, cooling towers, pressure vessels, tanks, new shell forms for liquid containment and novel multi-shell assemblies
• presents the fundamentals of shell buckling and of finite element modelling of shells.

This new edition is intended for civil and structural engineers involved with the design of domes, architectural shell roofs, industrial barrel roofs, cooling towers, silos, elevated water reservoirs, liquid-containment structures at water treatment works, egg-shaped sludge digesters, oil-storage tanks, chemical storage vessels, and pipelines for water, oil and gas.
It will also be of interest to mechanical and industrial engineers involved with the design of pressure vessels, boilers, nuclear containment vessels and associated piping. The rigorous derivation of theory and inclusion of new findings will appeal to researchers and postgraduate students in these fields.

Book Reviews

The book leads the reader rather beautifully through the increasing complexity of applications of shell structures, providing full derivations throughout to problems of real practical importance. Starting with axisymmetric problems and ending up with shells of arbitrary shape, the reader is introduced to the analysis of egg-shaped structures through to shell-roof problems, which is where my particular interest lies in the future design and construction of efficient, elegant and low-carbon structures.

Professor Tim Ibell FREng, Sir Kirby Laing Professor of Civil Engineering, Fellow of Churchill College, University of Cambridge

This is an excellent book which embodies a very comprehensive treatment of shell structures in civil and mechanical engineering. It is packed with information presented in a very efficient and informative manner across 13 chapters. 

Professor David P. Thambiratnam, BSc CE Hons 1, MSc, PhD, FICE, FASCE, FIEAust., CPEng, School of Civil Engineering and Built Environment, Queensland University of Technology

This book covers not only the basic principles, assumptions and fundamentals of shell analysis but mainly provides a deep insight into some areas not well examined by other conventional books. The book provides the most relevant principals of structural mechanics (equilibrium, compatibility, constitutive laws) with simple illustrative examples that can easily be understood by graduate students, researchers and practice engineers. It also provides deep analytical explanations, derivations and theoretical formulations that are sometimes mandatory to understand few complex phenomena. (...) Overall, this text book is highly recommended not only because the contents are very well explained, systematized and illustrated through several examples and figures, but mainly because of the rigorous way the author brings the reader attention to specific and important features of shell behaviour. Besides being a world recognised expert in the field of shell structures, the author has huge expertise in research, consultancy and design of this type of structures.

Professor Nuno Silvestre, IDMEC – Institute of Mechanical Engineering, IST - Technical University of Lisbon

Zingoni descriptively explains how by use of simplified shell theory the closed form analytical solutions can be obtained in order to evaluate stresses and deformations. Especially the aforementioned chapters concerning buckling, FE-modeling and design can be a great help for practicing engineers in projects, where shell structures are to be designed. The book is very well illustrated with sketches and diagrams in order to increase the reader’s level of understanding. The author states that the book is intended for ‘senior undergraduate and postgraduate students of civil and mechanical engineering and a reference book for practicing engineering in these disciplines’. Furthermore, it shall serve as a useful resource for researchers as well as software developers. In my view Zingoni has fulfilled his intention. His book is an excellent reference for the analysis of shell problems – either for theoretical investigations or for practical designing issues.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Daniel Jun, KRÄTZIG & PARTNER, Ingenieurgesellschaft für Bautechnik mbH

 The first edition of this book produced some 20 years ago has become the standard reference on shell structures and an invaluable source of background and explanation of the design provisions that are now finding their way into Design Codes around the world. Even when numerical analysis is to be employed - perhaps to check the significance of material and/or geometric nonlinearities that cannot be addressed by analytical methods - use of closed form solutions to assess the relative importance of individual parameters and to identify which combinations should be subject to more precise analysis is necessary. Faced with a commission that requires consideration of some form of shell structure, design offices around the world should reach for this book as the essential basis for understanding the subject. It goes without saying that postgraduate courses on shells and researchers in the subject area should also do the same.

Professor D. A. Nethercot OBE, FREng, FTSE, NAE, Emeritus Professor of Civil Engineering, Imperial College London, UK.

Design of shell structures is and will remain a specialist area. Many of the problems in this form of  structures are formulated by differential equations for which exact solutions cannot be found. The mathematics involved tends to frighten many practising engineers. They prefer close formed solutions. The first edition of ‘Shell structures’ published in 1997 provided such helpful data. After a passage of some 20 years Professor Zingoni is refreshing the book and the new features are welcome. Apart from some reordering of the contents the new edition includes sections on non-conventional shell forms for liquid containment applications and new chapters on buckling of thin shells, finite element analysis and design consideration for shells. The main thrust of the book remains the development of simplified mathematical theory and presentation of closed-form analytical solutions for a wide variety of shell problems.
The subject is covered in thirteen chapters. The introductory Chapter 1 traces the historical development of shell theory and explains the way shells resist applied loads. The next three Chapters develop the membrane theory of shells of revolution. Chapters 5 and 6 present theories of axisymmetric bending of cylindrical shells and general shells of revolution. Flexibility formulation for shells is explained in Chapter 7. Parametric studies for some spherical tanks and domes are presented in Chapter 8. Membrane theory of general cylinders and shells of arbitrary shape are covered in Chapters 9 and 10. Chapter 11 deals with approximate theory of buckling. The finite-element formulation for shells is outlined in Chapter 12.The final Chapter is devoted to design considerations for concrete and steel shells. Eurocode design criteria and guidelines of the American Petroleum Institute are reviewed.
As in the first edition all information (formulae and Figures) is very clearly presented. 
The book should appeal to academics, post graduate students and practitioners.
Professor Zingoni’s efforts deserve a wide audience and success.


Professor R.S. Narayanan BEng(Hons) MSc DIC FREng FIStructE FConsE, Clark Smith Partnership – Consulting Civil and Structural Engineers

Format: Hardback
ISBN: 9780727760289
Number of pages: 464
Product code: 9780727760289
Page size: 246x189mm
Publication status: Published
Publisher: ICE Publishing

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