Thin Shell Ferrocement

Concrete shell building has 2 main fields

A) Ferrocement Boat Building (Mesh wire based method)

B) Structural Concrete Building (Cast method used in civil engineering)

Both Methods has been used to create floating structures. Ferrocement is used in boatbuilding while structural concrete building is used for industrial floating structures like oil and gas platforms.

Especially concrete cast structures like Troll A and the Nkossa Barge have been acnowledged to have a maintenance free service life of 200 years in marine environment what makes them a top option for the purpose of seasteading. Drawback of concrete cast structures is that the shell thickness has to be some 10cm as a minimum - the structures will be too heavy for normal "boating purpose" so the method was never used on a large scale in boat building but opens great possibilities for hulls where light is not a design goal - this is industry, seasteading, and submarine applications.

Mesh wire based Ferrocement structures on the other hand can be performed in much thinner layers and has achieved certain popularity in yacht building - the drawback is that the service life depends strongly on the building quality and is less favorable than for concrete cast structures.

Bo Atkinson's Enersearch

Dirt Cheap Builder's Books on Concrete

International Thin Shell Association

Ice Shells Inspired by Heinz Isler

European Submarine Structures AB