Thermomechanical analysis of spherical domes using Geckeler and Finite Element approximations

Resumo

Structural analysis consists of obtaining the structure’s response to the various actions to which it will
be subjected throughout its useful life. In this work, it is proposed to develop the analytical calculation for the
resolution of a concrete spherical dome, supported on its base, subjected to own and accidental loads. At the
end, the effort diagrams, the stresses and displacements from these approximate analytical methods are obtained,
where these results are compared with the Finite Element Method (FEM). The chosen example is the semi-spherical
dome, where the influence of the different types of loading on these structures is studied, and the variability of their
importance at the expense of changing the element’s geometry. To validate the analytically determined results, a
refined shell-type mesh (S4R8) was initially used in the ABAQUS program. For the convergence of results, the
type of the element was varied in triangular and quadrilateral using the options of elements S4R8, S3, STRI65 and
S4R. In the end, it was concluded that the adherence of the element type is important for approximations with the
least number of elements possible, however, for this type of element, the triangular types with reduced integration
yielded better adherence.