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Practical Design of Concrete Shells Arnold Wilson -~

Figure 1.9 - Dome of tI Home in Pensacola Beach, Florida survived a direct hit by hurricanes Ivan, Dennis and Katrina. Storm surge forced water through the ground floor garage and tore away the breakaway staircase. The living quarters were u,ndamaged.

top of the dome; it forced the upper dome back into the bottom part of the dome. The result was that no material was deposited outside the dome but was contained within, saving much property damage as well as injury or loss of life. This safety valve technique may have other useful applications for other farm product storage, munitions storage and manufacturing processes for explosives or fireworks. Housing for people is still an untouched area which deserves much more attention in the future. Several years ago, two severe hurricanes, Hugo and Andrew, caused extensive damage along the east coast of the United States. Thousands of houses were destroyed and billions of dollars lost as a result of this damage. But if you lived in a reinforced concrete thin shell dome in the center of the worst damage, your house would have remained in good condition (Figure 1.7, 1.8). On February 23 and 24, 1998, tornadoes ravaged central Florida, destroying more than 2000 houses. Here too, concrete thin shells would have saved lives and property. For the most part, the dome can withstand the extreme violence of even a tornado. On September 15, 2004, Hurricane Ivan with 130 mph (209 km/h) winds hit the coast in Pensacola Beach, Florida. Ivan was one of the fiercest and deadliest storms ever to hit this area, causing great destruction. A concrete 13

1.3 Domes: Where have we been and where are we going?

home in the shape of a dome, named Dome of a Home, and its owners Mark and Valerie Sigler, stood firm and remained relatively dry. The concrete dome withstood the hurricane as neighboring homes were virtually washed out to sea. The impact of the storm was witnessed first hand as Mark Sigler, the owner, accompanied by Craig White, an NBC cameraman, Chuck Stewart, an NBC sound engineer and several other people stayed in the dome through the storm (Figure 1.9). Throughout the world, simple domes for houses could provide stable housing by utilizing local materials such as concrete. Because of their shape, domes require less construction material than most other structures. , Since about 1975, the ability to create a dome ecqnpmi