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Analysis, design and construction of braced barrel vaults
J. Construct. Steel Research 6 (1986) 319--322
Book Reviews
Analysis, Design and Construction of Braced Barrel Vaults. Edited by Z. S. Makowski. 1985. Elsevier Applied Science Publishers, London. 400 pp. Price: £72.00. (ISBN 0 85334 377 2) This well-produced 400-page volume brings together in 24 contributed chapters a very timely review of the state of the art of that attractive class of space structures known as braced barrel vaults. Professor Makowski exercises his editor's prerogative, and opens the book with a wide-ranging survey of the history of this structural form and recent examples from all over the world. The next few chapters, mainly by authors from the well-known Space Structures Research Centre group at Surrey University, introduce some ideas on the analysis, configuration and structural behaviour of the braced barrel vault. For this reviewer, the pace of the book seemed unsure at this pointnranging in successive chapters from simplistic (or at least extremely simple) models of structural behaviour to the far-flung reaches of Formex algebra ('the reader is assumed to be familiar with the concepts of . . . ' , followed by pages of formulae) and back again. Chapters 5 and 6 present, in fair detail, the two analysis routes applicable to any space frame: the "smeared' analysis via an equivalent aeolotropic plate or shell and the classical stiffness analysis of the structure as an assemblage of bars, often involving thousands of kinematic indeterminacies. Chapter 7 discusses wind loading, as does Chapter 11, with the latter raising some doubts as to how up-to-date the former is. The next group of chapters concentrates on the problems of stability of these vaults, with their great potential for interactive buckling involving several different basic mode forms--member, nodal, line, or overall. Gioncu. et al.. in Chapter 9 correctly warn that the state of knowledge for cylindrical shell vaults is less complete than for the complete circular 319 J. Construct. Sieel Research (6) (1986)----~ Elsevier Applied Science Publishers Ltd, England. 1986. Printed in Great Britain
320
Book reviews
cylinder. Given that our understanding of the cylinder under unsymmetric loading in the presence of imperfections and plasticity is far from complete, and that the braced vault must be more difficult to handle than the plain shell, it is clear that it behoves the designer of braced vaults and space structures in general to proceed with caution in this area! These chapters at least identify the phenomena, point out the problems, guide the reader through the literature, and give extensive references. The second half of the book illustrates only too clearly one of the problems inherent in its format. Authors from many different countries appear to have been asked to write about design and construction in their country and company: they have obliged, but taken as a whole the result is formless, and somehow uninviting. Certainly, a designer of barrel vaults will find much to interest him in these chapters, including a wideranging review of the problems that others have faced and the solutions at which they have arrived. For the general reader, however, this is part of the book for dipping into rather than for methodical study. In conclusion, then, the book is certainly of interest to anyone concerned with barrel vaults and space structures, including architects looking for novel and attractive forms to cover large areas. It is not, however, the design textbook that its title suggests. Rather, it surveys the field in a very useful but typically multi-author contributed-chapter way, and potential purchasers would (at £72.00) do well to bear this distinction in mind. R. E. Hobbs
Corrosion Protection of Steel Structures. By K. A. Chandler and D. A. Bayliss. 1985. Elsevier Applied Science Publishers, London. 411 pp. Price: £49.00 hardback. (ISBN 085334 362 4)
The preface presents the book as a volume for the non-specialist for whom the protection of steelwork is an important but comparatively minor part of their professional activities. The book is intended as a practical guide to the principles involved and the methods to be used in achieving the specifier's requirements. The authors of this book come from ITI Consultancy Services in Watford, UK.
Book Reviews
Analysis, Design and Construction of Braced Barrel Vaults. Edited by Z. S. Makowski. 1985. Elsevier Applied Science Publishers, London. 400 pp. Price: £72.00. (ISBN 0 85334 377 2) This well-produced 400-page volume brings together in 24 contributed chapters a very timely review of the state of the art of that attractive class of space structures known as braced barrel vaults. Professor Makowski exercises his editor's prerogative, and opens the book with a wide-ranging survey of the history of this structural form and recent examples from all over the world. The next few chapters, mainly by authors from the well-known Space Structures Research Centre group at Surrey University, introduce some ideas on the analysis, configuration and structural behaviour of the braced barrel vault. For this reviewer, the pace of the book seemed unsure at this pointnranging in successive chapters from simplistic (or at least extremely simple) models of structural behaviour to the far-flung reaches of Formex algebra ('the reader is assumed to be familiar with the concepts of . . . ' , followed by pages of formulae) and back again. Chapters 5 and 6 present, in fair detail, the two analysis routes applicable to any space frame: the "smeared' analysis via an equivalent aeolotropic plate or shell and the classical stiffness analysis of the structure as an assemblage of bars, often involving thousands of kinematic indeterminacies. Chapter 7 discusses wind loading, as does Chapter 11, with the latter raising some doubts as to how up-to-date the former is. The next group of chapters concentrates on the problems of stability of these vaults, with their great potential for interactive buckling involving several different basic mode forms--member, nodal, line, or overall. Gioncu. et al.. in Chapter 9 correctly warn that the state of knowledge for cylindrical shell vaults is less complete than for the complete circular 319 J. Construct. Sieel Research (6) (1986)----~ Elsevier Applied Science Publishers Ltd, England. 1986. Printed in Great Britain
320
Book reviews
cylinder. Given that our understanding of the cylinder under unsymmetric loading in the presence of imperfections and plasticity is far from complete, and that the braced vault must be more difficult to handle than the plain shell, it is clear that it behoves the designer of braced vaults and space structures in general to proceed with caution in this area! These chapters at least identify the phenomena, point out the problems, guide the reader through the literature, and give extensive references. The second half of the book illustrates only too clearly one of the problems inherent in its format. Authors from many different countries appear to have been asked to write about design and construction in their country and company: they have obliged, but taken as a whole the result is formless, and somehow uninviting. Certainly, a designer of barrel vaults will find much to interest him in these chapters, including a wideranging review of the problems that others have faced and the solutions at which they have arrived. For the general reader, however, this is part of the book for dipping into rather than for methodical study. In conclusion, then, the book is certainly of interest to anyone concerned with barrel vaults and space structures, including architects looking for novel and attractive forms to cover large areas. It is not, however, the design textbook that its title suggests. Rather, it surveys the field in a very useful but typically multi-author contributed-chapter way, and potential purchasers would (at £72.00) do well to bear this distinction in mind. R. E. Hobbs
Corrosion Protection of Steel Structures. By K. A. Chandler and D. A. Bayliss. 1985. Elsevier Applied Science Publishers, London. 411 pp. Price: £49.00 hardback. (ISBN 085334 362 4)
The preface presents the book as a volume for the non-specialist for whom the protection of steelwork is an important but comparatively minor part of their professional activities. The book is intended as a practical guide to the principles involved and the methods to be used in achieving the specifier's requirements. The authors of this book come from ITI Consultancy Services in Watford, UK.