Abstract: The variational formulations for computing the limit load of shallow shellsunder arbitrary normal load by means of duality-variational principle are presented in this paper. The numerical analysis for an example is carried out by finite element method and iteration method, which shows that the variational formulations are effective for the limit analysis of shallow shells. Hence it might be widely used to estimate the ultimate capacity of structures with shallow shell form, such as side plate of ship, bulkh...