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Building a stressed skin geodesic domeWhat is a stressed skin dome? A stressed skin dome has no supporting framework at all; the skin is designed to support the whole weight of the structure without beams, joists, guy wires or anything. Sounds impossible but it’s actually very simple. I built a 7-meter diameter dome using 16-gauge aluminium sheet, that’s a clear span of 24 feet with a material that’s less than 2mm thick! How to build a stresses skin geodesic dome Building a full size stressed skin dome is very much like building the Paper model, but instead of using paper glued together we use aluminium sheet which is riveted together. First we need to make two patterns, there are only two different shaped triangles in a 3v geodesic dome so this isn’t a complex task. A 50mm tab is added to all sides of the pattern to form the tabs for joining panels together (see diagram below).  To build a 7 meter geodesic dome you will need 75 panels in total (see below) if you want to build a different size dome use the dome calculator to work out how many panels and what sizes they need to be  You’ll need to get a metal fabricator to drill or punch some slots in the tabs and bend them at 90 degrees, the angle doesn’t need to be exact because the tabs are quite flexible and will bend to the correct angle when you assemble the dome. To assemble the dome follow the same instructions as the paper dome, you can build the paper dome first to get an idea how it goes together. Use mole grips to pull the panels tightly together before you bolt/rivet them. You will need to rivet a cover strip over all the joints and finish the dome with a waterproof coating.  Warning only use stressed skin construction to build pure domes that are firmly fixed down. Do not cut large openings or add on extensions, this will severely weaken the structure! |
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| [ comments 5 ] |
| posted by Ted Hubbard | 20/08/2006 17:23:58 |
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| Interesting, but very difficult to construct an equilateral triangle with all the angles equal - when the lengths are different. I don't think the angles are all 60 deg somehow! Your right Ted it's not quite an equilateral triangle, my drawing program messed up the angles (I've updated the drawing with the exact angles) | |
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| posted by Colin | 01/11/2006 14:59:27 |
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A 2 panel 3v is certainly easier to fabricate but while it does sit relatively flat on the pentagons there is a pronounced upward curve in the half hexagons each side.
The gap created may well be in excess of 2" for a 7m dome.
Altering the foundation to follow the curve is one option otherwise you will have close/cover the gaps by some other means.
Trying to force it flat by bolting it down won`t work too well ;) Interesting point there Colin, you are right in that there is a slight rise to the half hex panels but this is fixed by slightly distorting the base of the dome. Look at the image below, as you can see the pentagon is pushed out a little and the point of the half hex is pulled in. The black line is true and the red one shows the distortion required to make the base flat.  |
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| posted by Therese | 09/05/2007 03:40:10 |
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| I want to know if anyone has ever considered making a dome by using a very large inflatable balloon, and then covering it with insulating foam which, when cured, can be cut for things like windows and doors, and covered with whatever decorative or protective materials inside and out that one wishes? I don't know if one could also use some kind of concrete, but I've thought maybe chicken wire and concrete instead of the foam, but same technique. (The balloon needs to be pretty heavy duty to prevent punctures.) The result would still need to be placed on a foundation prepared for the purpose. Fiberglass might also be another building material. | |
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| posted by ZachMac | 20/06/2007 20:25:47 |
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| Therese, There is a company called the Monolithic Dome Institute, they make "Balloons" and cover them with Foam and Concrete then cut the windows out. Just search for monolithic dome, you will find them. | |
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| posted by Haha | 24/03/2009 19:11:48 |
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| These house are like really cool! | |
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