First Ply Failure Loads of Composite Conoidal Shell Roofs with Varying Lamination

A number of industrial structures need large column free open spaces. Though the conoidal shells are doubly curved they are singly ruled too and are easy to fabricate and thus preferred in the industry. The laminated composites are well established today and there is a relevant question regarding the performance of different stacking options when the laminates are used to fabricate structural units. First ply failure analysis of conoidal shells are missing in the literature. This article uses the finite element method to evaluate relative performances of conoidal shells with varying laminations in terms of their first ply failure loads.