ABSTRACT
Shell structures present great challenges to both researchers and designers. As an optimised structural form, the behaviour of a shell can be either shockingly susceptible to minor deviations or remarkably resistant be-yond normal expectations. These situations arise from the variable response to geometric nonlinearity, geo-metric and other imperfections and complex effects of material nonlinearity. The natural solution for both the researcher and advanced designer is to exploit widely available sophisticated finite element software to analyse the proposed structure, but there are many pitfalls awaiting both the designer and the researcher who follow this path. This paper sets out recent developments in both the philosophy and structure of the design process that permit both groups to address more complex shell problems with confidence, economy and safety.
