The subject of this paper is the analysis, by means of an optical-interferometric method, of the displacements of a multiple-shell roof, composed of π-shaped elements, mutually connected by linear hinges.
The first part deals with both the warping of the section (due to combined bending and torsion) and plane cross-section deformations: two different theoretical approaches (‘rigid section’ and
... [Show full abstract] ‘deformable section’) are considered, so that experimental and theoretical results can be compared; a linear load is applied to each hinge in turn, In the second part, the effects of diaphragm spacing on the section distortion are analysed in the case of a single prismatic element.