The finite element method is used to obtain an elastic linear analysis of a fluted shell roof. A finite element in the form of a conical segment is developed. The element's displacement fields are in terms of curvilinear co-ordinates, satisfy the exact requirement of rigid body modes of deformation and has six degrees of freedom at each of the four corner nodes. The roof is made up of several conical segment joined together along lines of generators. To satisfy equilibrium and compatibility along these junctions and to reduce computational time the stiffness matrix for any element next to these lines are developed in a special way. The co-ordinates of the nodes along these lines are transformed into a global co-ordinate system while leaving the other nodes of these elements to have their original curvilinear directions.

The results are compared with a finite difference solution and a parametric study is carried out to find the effect of varying the geometry of the roof on the level of deflections and stresses.

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