The Evolution of the work of Eduardo Torroja : shell roofs with and without reinforcement rings

Abstract

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the construction of thin reinforced shell concrete roofs was widespread in Europe. This roof is of the type where a cylindrical shell with a span of between 3.00 and 5.00 m span is built among arches that give the shape of the roof. These arches have a tie beam to resist thrusts and there is therefore only a vertical reaction on the piers. Arches are placed at the bottom side of the shell. At this period concrete was considered to be an elastic and lineal material that obeyed Hooke's law and the arches were therefore analysed in these terms