Keywords
Abstract
Safety requirements for building structures aim to prevent accidents and collapses of buildings or their individual elements that may endanger human life, harm the environment, or trigger other emergencies. Although it is impossible to completely eliminate accidents, it is crucial to ensure that when design loads are exceeded, failures remain localized and do not grow into progressive or cascading collapses. When analyzing the causes of structural failures, attention must be given to errors made during the design, construction, and operational stages. Notable example of a failure caused by design shortcomings is the collapse of the roof of the Yasenevo water park in Moscow, RF. Article presents verification calculations of the reinforced-concrete shell that revealed insufficient strength, stiffness, and stability. Primary cause was an unsuccessful design choice - selecting a shell geometry with excessively flat areas near the support contour, which significantly reduced its load-bearing capacity. Special emphasis is placed on the survivability of buildings and structures, including their ability to maintain structural integrity under unexpected or extreme loads. Paper examines factors that contributed to the shell collapse: total deflections, excessive flatness, inadequate rigidity, actual operational loads, and real physical-mechanical properties of materials. Recommendations are provided for the design of shallow reinforced-concrete shells, highlighting critical aspects that require the designer’s attention to avoid similar failures. Modern calculation program STARK_ES3.1 is used for analyzing shallow reinforced-concrete surfaces, with geometric parameters and material properties presented in detail. Expanded literature review is included, focusing on creep, long-term performance, and durability of shallow reinforced-concrete shells.