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Practical Design ofConcrete Shells
Arnold Wilson-~
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Figure 1.9 - Dome of tI Home in Pensacola Beach, Florida survived a direct hit byhurricanes Ivan, Dennis and Katrina. Storm surge forced water through the ground floorgarage 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 thedome. The result was that no material was deposited outside the dome butwas contained within, saving much property damage as well as injury orloss of life. This safety valve technique may have other useful applicationsfor other farm product storage, munitions storage and manufacturing processes for explosives or fireworks.
Housing for people is still an untouched area which deserves much moreattention in the future. Several years ago, two severe hurricanes, Hugo andAndrew, caused extensive damage along the east coast of the United States.Thousands of houses were destroyed and billions of dollars lost as a result ofthis damage. But if you lived in a reinforced concrete thin shell dome in thecenter 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 savedlives and property. For the most part, the dome can withstand the extremeviolence of even a tornado.
On September 15, 2004, Hurricane Ivan with 130mph (209 km/h) windshit the coast in Pensacola Beach, Florida. Ivan was one of the fiercest anddeadliest storms ever to hit this area, causing great destruction. A concrete
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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 Markand Valerie Sigler, stood firm and remained relatively dry. The concretedome withstood the hurricane as neighboring homes were virtually washedout 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 domethrough the storm (Figure 1.9).Throughout the world, simple domes for houses could provide stablehousing 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
