Membrane Analysis and Minimum Weight Design of Submerged Spherical Domes

This paper is concerned with the membrane analysis and minimum weight design of submerged spherical domes. In addition to the hydrostatic pressure, loads acting on the dome include the self-weight and a skin cover load. By adopting a uniform strength design as governed by the Tresca yield condition, the variation of the shell thickness of spherical domes can be accurately defined by a power series. Based on a family of uniform strength designs associated with a given depth of water and the domeʹs base radius, we determine the optimal subtended angle 2 (alpha) (and the optimal dome height) for the minimum weight design of submerged spherical domes.