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Upon successful completion of the course students have a basic command of the structural behavior of shells. They are able to determine analytically the stress state and the deformations of simple shell structures employing membrane theory, to determine bending stresses for simple examples and to analyze more complex shell structures numerically by means of the finite element method.

The course contains an introduction to the linear analysis of shell structures employing analytical and numerical methods. It is organized in sections on (i) curvilinear coordinates, (ii) basics of the theory of surfaces, (iii) linear theory of thin shells in curvilinear coordinates, (iv) membrane theory and (v) bending theory of shells with the latter two sections mainly focusing on shells of revolution. Special emphasis is laid on the assumptions and simplifications underlying the respective theories and the resulting restrictions concerning applications of the mathematical models. Analytical solutions will be compared to numerical solutions, computed on the basis of the finite element method and FE-analyses will be extended to more complex cases. For this reason it is strongly recommended to complete the basic course on the finite element method before taking the course on shell structures. Sufficient knowledge on linear slab theory and plate theories is assumed.

In the lectures mathematical models of linear shell theory will be discussed on the basis of handouts, provided by the lecturer. Examples of deriving analytical solutions for the stresses and displacements of shells will be presented partly by the lecturer and partly by the students. Numerical analyses of shell structures will be performed employing a FE-program by the students, partly supported by the lecturer.

The success of the students will be assessed by the examples presented by the students in the lectures and by a technical report on the analysis of a shell structure to be drawn up by the students. The report will be presented by the students and questions will have to be answered after the presentation.

References will be provided in the handouts.