Finite element elastic analysis of hypar shells on winkler foundation

In this research, the hyperbolic paraboloidal shell is investigated. The two components of the interacting system; the soil and the shell foundation, are modelled using the finite element method. In this study, 9-node isoparametric degenerated shell element with five degrees of freedom at each node was used. The soil-structure interaction between the shell elements and the supporting medium are model in this study by representing the soil medium by certain analytical equivalent such as Winkler model with both normal compressional and tangential frictional resistances. A parametric studies have been carried out to investigate the effect of some important parameters on the behaviour of shell foundations. These parameters are: shell thickness, shell warp, ridge and edge beams cross-sectional dimensions. Comparison between the results obtained by the present analysis and those obtained by many other investigations are made. The present analysis shows satisfactory results when compared with those obtained by other studies with largest percentage difference of 4.4097 % in the value of the vertical displacement value.