• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.243-254
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• 2014

In this study, a demolition analysis code using the adaptively shifted integration (ASI)-Gauss technique, which describes structural member fracture by shifting the numerical integration point to an appropriate position and simultaneously releasing the sectional forces in the element, is developed. The code was verified and validated by comparing the predicted results with those of several experiments. A demolition planning tool utilizing the concept of a key element index, which explicitly indicates the contribution of each structural column to the vertical load capacity of the structure, is also develped. Two methods of selecting specific columns to efficiently demolish the whole structure are demonstrated: selecting the columns from the largest index value and from the smallest index value. The demolition results are confirmed numerically by conducting collapse analyses using the ASI-Gauss technique. The numerical results suggest that to achieve a successful demolition, a group of columns with the largest key element index values should be selected when explosives are ignited in a simultaneous blast, whereas those with the smallest should be selected when explosives are ignited in a sequence, with a final blast set on a column with large index value.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.3 no.4
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• pp.297-304
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• 2014

Recently, there have been some reported examples of structural collapse due to gravity, subsequent to damage from accident or an excitation that was not prepared for in the design process. A close view of new concepts, such as a redundancy and key elements, has been taken with the aim of ensuring the robustness of a structure, even in the event of an unexpected disturbance. The author previously proposed a sensitivity index of the vertical load carrying capacity to member disappearance for framed structures. The index is defined as the ratio of the load carrying capacity after a member or a set of an adjacent member disappears, to the original load carrying capacity. The member with the highest index may be regarded as a key element. The concept of bio-mimicry is being applied to various fields of engineering, and tree-shaped structures are sometimes used for the design of building structures. In this study a sensitivity analysis is applied to the irregular-framed structures such as tree-shaped structures.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.1 no.4
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• pp.283-300
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• 2012

Wind-induced vibrations of buildings can be perceived when movement of objects caused by the vibration is seen. However, movement of objects that would normally be expected to trigger visual perception of building vibrations is not necessarily seen in actual building environments. Therefore, to evaluate habitability to building vibrations, it is necessary to examine the influence of movement of objects on vibration perception taking into account probability of seeing the objects. As the first step in this study, those data necessary to estimate probability of vibration perception from seeing of swaying objects have been measured during normal activities in actual buildings. In addition, statistical analysis of the data has also been carried out. As the second step in this study, the probability distribution of vibration perception by visual sensation is estimated using the series of data measured in the first step. Probability of seeing object is considered in the estimated probability distribution.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.1 no.4
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• pp.271-281
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• 2012

Tianjin Goldin Finance 117 tower has an architectural height of 597 m, total of 117 stories, and the coronation of having the highest structural roof of all the buildings under construction in China. Structural height-width ratio is approximately 9.5, exceeding the existing regulation code significantly. In order to satisfy earthquake and wind-resisting requirements, a structure consisting of a perimeter frame composed of mega composite columns, mega braces and transfer trusses and reinforced concrete core containing composite steel plate wall is adopted. Complemented by some of the new requirements from the latest Chinese building seismic design codes, design of the super high-rise building in high-intensity seismic area exhibits a number of new features and solutions to professional requirements in response spectrum selection, overall stiffness control, material and component type selection, seismic performance based design, mega-column design, anti-collapse and stability analysis as well as elastic-plastic time-history analysis. Furthermore, under the prerequisite of economic viability and a series of technical requirements prescribed by the expert review panel for high-rise buildings exceeding code limits, the design manages to overcome various structural challenges and realizes the intentions of the architect and the client.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.107-116
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• 2012

The overarching objective of this study is to predict the convective heat transfer around a human body under forced strong airflow conditions assuming a strong wind blowing through high-rise buildings or an air shower system in an enclosed space. In this study, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analyses of the flow field and temperature distributions around a human body were carried out to estimate the convective heat transfer coefficient for a whole human body assuming adult male geometry under forced convective airflow conditions between 15 m/s and 25 m/s. A total of 45 CFD analyses were analyzed with boundary conditions that included differences in the air velocity, wind direction and turbulence intensity. In the case of approach air velocity $U_{in}=25m/s$ and turbulent intensity TI = 10%, average convective heat transfer coefficient was estimated at approximately $100W/m^2/K$ for the whole body, and strong dependence on air velocity and turbulence intensity was confirmed. Finally, the formula for the mean convective heat transfer coefficient as a function of approaching average velocity and turbulence intensity was approximated by using the concept of equivalent steady wind speed ($U_{eq}$).

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.87-97
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• 2012

The indoor environments in high-rise buildings are generally well enclosed by defined boundary conditions. Here, a numerical simulation method based on the Lattice Boltzmann method (LBM), which aims to model and simulate the turbulent flow accurately in an enclosed environment, and its comparison with traditional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) results, are presented in this paper. CFD has become a powerful tool for predicting and evaluating enclosed airflows with the rapid advance in computer capacity and speed, and various types of CFD turbulence modeling and its application and validation have been reported. The LBM is a relatively new method; it involves solving of the discrete Boltzmann equation to simulate the fluid flow with a collision model instead of solving Navier-Stokes equations. In this study, the LBM-based scheme of flow pattern and particle dispersion analyses are validated using the benchmark test case of two- and three-dimensional and isothermal conditions (IEA/Annex 20 case); the prediction accuracy and advantages are also discussed by comparison with the results of CFD.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.99-105
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• 2012

The higher the building height and the larger the temperature difference between the outdoor and indoor space, the more remarkable is the draft driven by the stack effect in high-rise buildings. Moreover, the stack effect can bring about the deterioration of habitability and the degradation of the performance of the indoor control system in high-rise buildings. In this study, as a measure to attenuate the stack effect, the E/V shaft cooling method was proposed and its performance was compared with the conventional stack effect control method for strengthening the air-tightness of the building using a numerical simulation method. The total decreasing ratios on the stack effect in a building were compared, and the probabilities of the secondary problems were analyzed. The results show that the E/V shaft cooling is very effective to decrease the stack effect in a high-rise building in terms of the reduction performance and application. Moreover, this method does not cause secondary problems, such as stack pressure transition to other walls, unlike the conventional stack effect mitigation method.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.219-226
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• 2015

By the end of 2014, the number of completed and under-construction supertall buildings above 250 meters in China reached 90 and 129, respectively. China has become one of the centers of supertall buildings in the world. Supertall buildings in China are getting taller, more slender, and more complex. The structural design of these buildings focuses on the efficiency of lateral resisting systems and the application of energy dissipation. Furthermore, the research, design, and construction of high-performance materials, pile foundations, and mega-members have made a lot of progress. Meanwhile, more and more challenges are presented, such as the improvement of structural system efficiency, the further understanding of failure models, the definition of design criteria, the application of high-performance materials, and construction monitoring. Thus, local structural engineers are playing a more important role in the design of supertall buildings.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.191-198
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• 2015

It is important to accurately predict structural responses to external excitations such as typhoons and earthquakes when designing structures for serviceability. One of the key procedures to predict reliable vibration responses is to evaluate accurate structural dynamic properties using finite element (FE) models, which properly represent the realistic behavior of buildings. In the case of historic masonry buildings, structural damage could also be caused by ambient vibrations or impacts. Therefore, the preservation plans of historic buildings for low-level vibrations or impacts should be provided by analyzing structural damages within serviceability levels. For this purpose, it is required to provide FE model construction and response analysis methods verified with field measurement data. In this research, long-term field measurement was performed for a cathedral and its dynamic properties were evaluated using measured data. Then, the model was calibrated based on the measured dynamic properties and an overall construction method for the masonry cathedral was proposed. Using the measured accelerations, the vibrations of the belfry were analyzed using the calibrated FE model and finally, the FE model for the cathedral was verified by comparing the measured accelerations with the modeled results.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.107-120
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• 2014

A Reinforced concrete (RC) shear wall system with coupling beams has been known as one of the most promising structural systems for high-rise buildings. However, significantly large flexural and/or shear stress demands induced in the coupling beams require special reinforcement details to avoid their undesirable brittle failure. In order to solve this problem, one of promising candidates is frictional hysteretic energy dissipating devices (HEDDs) as an alternative to the coupling beams. The introduction of frictional HEDDs into a RC shear wall system increases energy dissipation capacity and maintains the frame action after their yielding. This paper investigates the strength demands (specifically yield strength levels) with a maximum allowable ductility of frictional HEDDs based on comparative non-linear time-history analyses of a prototype RC shear wall system with traditional RC coupling beams and frictional HEDDs. Analysis results show that the RC shear wall systems coupled by frictional HEDDs with more than 50% yield strength of the RC coupling beams present better seismic performance compared to the RC shear wall systems with traditional RC coupling beams. This is due to the increased seismic energy dissipation capacity of the frictional HEDD. Also, it is found from the analysis results that the maximum allowable ductility demand of a frictional HEDD should increase as its yield strength decreases.