What is a stressed skin geodesic dome?
There are two main construction methods for geodesic domes, which are “stressed skin” and “beam + hub “, Beam + Hub domes have a system which involves inserting 6″x”2 or similar beams into specially made hubs then a skin is fixed over this skeletal framework, usually plywood which then has to be weather proofed on the outside have boarding on the inside and insulation in the middle. Stressed skin domes have no framework at all just two skins one outside and one inside with an injection insulation in between, The outside skin is aluminum sheet which riveted to an aluminum frame much the same as an aircraft has aluminum panels riveted to its airframe. The inside is usually plywood panels riveted to another aluminum frame, which is joined in turn to the outside frame. This makes an extremely strong, lightweight and durable structure.
