Moments due to concentrated loads on thin shell structures

P.C.J. Hoogenboom, Yu Chenjie, K. Taneja

Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands

Formulas are presented for the moments in thin shell structures due to concentrated loads perpendicular to the surface. The moments are a function of the shell curvature, the shell thickness and the area over which the force is distributed. The shell edges have no influence provided these are at a sufficiently large distance from the concentrated load. The formulas have been derived from 55 linear elastic finite element analyses of shells with positive and negative Gaussian curvatures.

Key words: Thin shell structure, point load, bending moment, elasticity theory, finite element method, design formula