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BRACED DOMES

DOME

A dome is a structural system that


consists of one or more layers of
elements that are arched in all directions.
Domes are lightweight and cost effective
structures that are used to cover large
areas.
They are mainly comprised of a complex
network of triangles made out of slender
members.
TYPES OF DOMES
Ribbed dome
Schwedler dome
Trimmed Schwedler dome
Lamella dome
Diamatic domes
Braced domes
Geodesic domes
Three-way grid domes
RIBBED DOME
Ribbed dome is the earliest type of braced
dome that has been constructed.
A ribbed dome consists of a number of
identical meridional solid girders or trusses,
interconnected at the crown by a compression
ring.
The ribs are also connected by concentric
rings to form grids in trapezium shape. The
ribbed dome is usually stiffened by a steel or
reinforced concrete tension ring at its base.
This has ribs extending down from the
crown of the dome and rings extending
horizontally around the dome.
SCHWEDLER DOME

A braced dome (devised by a German engineer


of that name in the late nineteenth century)
consisting of hoops and meridional bars,
connected together to form a series of trapezia,
lined up along horizontal polygonal rings.
To stiffen the structure, each trapezium is
divided into two triangles by a diagonal;
however, symmetrical loading introduces no
stresses in these diagonals, if the dome is
pinjointed.
This has ribs extending down from
the crown of the dome, rings
extending horizontally around the
dome, and diagonals extending from
intersections between ribs and rings
on one horizontal ring to those on the
next
LAMELLA DOME
A lamella dome is formed by
intersecting two-way ribs diagonally to
form a rhombus-shaped grid pattern.
As in lamella braced barrel vault, each
lamella element has a length that is
twice the length of the side of a
diamond.
This has diagonals extending from the crown
down towards the equator of the dome,in both
clockwise and anti-clockwise directions,
and may or may not have horizontal rings,
but has no meridional ribs.
GEODESIC DOME
The geodesic dome was developed by
the American designer Buckminster
Fuller, who turned architects attention
to the advantages of braced domes in
which the elements forming the
framework of the structure are lying on
the great circle of a sphere.
This dome is rather different in its
origins. It is derived from one of the
platonic or Archimedean solids, or
from a prism or anti-prism
THE ADVANTAGES OF USING A
GEODESIC DESIGN
The Advantages of Using a Geodesic Design

1. Geodesics offer the strongest form of architecture known (because geodesic


forms follow a doubly curved surface and because the base is always a polyhedron
which already begins to approximate a sphere. The example of the strength of the
shell of an egg confirms the strength of a spherically based structure).

2. A geodesic form creates the largest volume of space covered by the least amount
of material (the most efficient use of material to cover a given volume of space).

3. The largest unobstructed spans can be created using geodesic geometry.

4. Geodesic structures provide the most efficient form for the purposes of heating.

5. Spheres are aesthetically highly pleasing.

6. Spheres generate and embody potent energy fields.


BRACED DOME
The rise of a braced dome can be as flat as
one seventh of the diameter or as high as
three fourths of the diameter.
For diameters larger than 60 m, double-
layer grids are recommended.
The ratio of the thickness to the diameter of
double-layer braced dome is in the range of
1/ 30 to 1/60 ; for long spans the thickness
can be as small as 1/100 of the diameter.

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