Evaluation of Distress in Supports of Hyperbolic Paraboloid Shell

Abstract

A church building structure, composed of a saddle-type hyperbolic paraboloid concrete shell roof supported by buttresses and brick masonry walls, was constructed in 1963. At one corner of the structure, the perimeter of the roof shell projects beyond the exterior building walls to form a canopy over the main entrance. This canopy is partially supported by two brick masonry fin walls that project outward from the main building walls. At the time of original design, closed-form methods (equations) were the only practical way of analyzing this shell structure. However, the configuration of the roof shell was not consistent with detailing requirements of the closed-form methods. After