• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.83-102
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• 2011

As a testbed for various structural health monitoring (SHM) technologies, a super-tall structure - the 610 m-tall Guangzhou Television and Sightseeing Tower (GTST) in southern China - is currently under construction. This study aims to explore state-of-the-art wireless sensing technologies for monitoring the ambient vibration of such a super-tall structure during construction. The very nature of wireless sensing frees the system from the need for extensive cabling and renders the system suitable for use on construction sites where conditions continuously change. On the other hand, unique technical hurdles exist when deploying wireless sensors in real-life structural monitoring applications. For example, the low-frequency and low-amplitude ambient vibration of the GTST poses significant challenges to sensor signal conditioning and digitization. Reliable wireless transmission over long distances is another technical challenge when utilized in such a super-tall structure. In this study, wireless sensing measurements are conducted at multiple heights of the GTST tower. Data transmission between a wireless sensing device installed at the upper levels of the tower and a base station located at the ground level (a distance that exceeds 443 m) is implemented. To verify the quality of the wireless measurements, the wireless data is compared with data collected by a conventional cable-based monitoring system. This preliminary study demonstrates that wireless sensing technologies have the capability of monitoring the low-amplitude and low-frequency ambient vibration of a super-tall and slender structure like the GTST.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.185-190
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• 2014

Based on a 405m high super-tall building, the influence of outriggers, different shapes and layouts of structural plane and elevation on structural efficiency under lateral forces is studied in this paper. A calculation formula concerning the structural efficiency is given. The study shows that structural efficiency can be improved by triangulating the plane shape, using mega columns, the peripherization of the plane layout, tapering the elevation shape and setting bracing structure in the elevation. The arrangement of outriggers between the core tube and flange frame can reduce the shear lag effect in order to improve structural efficiency. The essence of improving structural efficiency of super-tall buildings is to maximize the plane bending stiffness and to make its deformation approach to plane section assumption.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.165-171
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• 2021

Core-outrigger-mega frame system is used in Suzhou IFS with 95-story, 450 m-tall, which is beyond Chinese code limit. Besides simple introduction on design principle, structure system and analysis, key techniques including performance based design criteria, frame shear ratio, capacity check of mega column, human comfort criteria under wind induced vibration and TSD design were presented in details for reference of similar super tall building design.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.253-283
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• 2011

This paper presents the field measurement results of wind effects on a super-tall building (CITIC Plaza, 391 m high) located in Guangzhou. The field data such as wind speed, wind direction and acceleration responses were simultaneously and continuously recorded from the tall building by a wind and vibration monitoring system during two typhoons. The typhoon-generated wind characteristics including turbulence intensity, gust factor, peak factor, turbulence integral length scale and power spectral density of fluctuating wind speed were presented and discussed. The dynamic characteristics of the tall building were determined based on the field measurements and compared with those calculated from a 3D finite element model of the building. The measured natural frequencies of the two fundamental sway modes of the building were found to be larger than those calculated. The damping ratios of the building were evaluated by the random decrement technique, which demonstrated amplitude-dependent characteristics. The field measured acceleration responses were compared with wind tunnel test results, which were found to be consistent with the model test data. Finally, the serviceability performance of the super-tall building was assessed based on the field measurement results.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.295-306
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• 2019

Shanghai Tower is a 632-meter super high-rise building located in an area with wind and active earthquake. A sophisticated structural health monitoring (SHM) system consisting of more than 400 sensors has been built to carry out a long-term monitoring for its operational safety. In this paper, a reduced-order model including 31 elements was generated from a full model of this super tall building. An iterative regularized matrix method was proposed to tune the system parameters, making the dynamic characteristic of the reduced-order model be consistent with those in the full model. The updating reduced-order model can be regarded as a benchmark model for further analysis. A long-term monitoring for structural dynamic characteristics of Shanghai Tower under different construction stages was also investigated. The identified results, including natural frequency and damping ratio, were discussed. Based on the data collected from the SHM system, the dynamic characteristics of the whole structure was investigated. Compared with the result of the finite element model, a good agreement can be observed. The result provides a valuable reference for examining the evolution of future dynamic characteristics of this super tall building.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.191-198
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• 2014

The tall building and super tall building has been a common building type in China, with multiple functions and complex geometry. Composite construction is broadly used in tall building structures and constitutes the mixed structure together with concrete and steel constructions. The mixture of the constructions is purposely designed for specific area based on the analysis results to achieve the best cost-effectiveness. New types of composite construction are conceived of by engineers for columns and walls. Material distribution is more flexible and innovative in the structural level and member level. However the reliability of computer model analysis should be verified carefully. Further researches in the design and build of composite construction are necessary to ensure the success of its application. Composite or Mixture Index is suggested to be used as a performance benchmark.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.75-83
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• 2015

In the present study, the preliminary results of a large-scale seismic response analysis of a super-high-rise steel frame considering soil-structure interaction are presented. A seismic response analysis under the excitation of the JR Takatori record of the 1995 Hyogoken-Nanbu earthquake is conducted. Precise meshes of a 31-story super-high-rise steel frame and a soil region, which are constructed completely of hexahedral elements, are generated and combined. The parallel large-scale simulation is performed using K computer, which is one of the fastest supercomputers in the world. The results are visualized using an offline rendering code implemented on K computer, and the feasibility of using a very fine mesh of solid elements is investigated. The computation performance of the analysis code on K computer is also presented.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.313-350
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• 2016

Taipei 101 Tower, which has 101 stories with height of 508 m, is located in Taipei where typhoons and earthquakes commonly occur. It is currently the second tallest building in the world. Therefore, the dynamic performance of the super-tall building under strong wind actions requires particular attentions. In this study, Large Eddy Simulation (LES) integrated with a new inflow turbulence generator and a new sub-grid scale (SGS) model was conducted to simulate the wind loads on the super-tall building. Three-dimensional finite element model of Taipei 101 Tower was established and used to evaluate the wind-induced responses of the high-rise structure based on the simulated wind forces. The numerical results were found to be consistent with those measured from a vibration monitoring system installed in the building. Furthermore, the equivalent static wind loads on the building, which were computed by the time-domain and frequency-domain analysis, respectively, were in satisfactory agreement with available wind tunnel testing results. It has been demonstrated through the validation studies that the numerical framework presented in this paper, including the recommended SGS model, the inflow turbulence generation technique and associated numerical treatments, is a useful tool for evaluation of the wind loads and wind-induced responses of tall buildings.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.205-214
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• 2014

The super high rise building construction is characterized by a large quantity of engineering works and structural components, high demanding of construction technology and complex cross operations. As the height of super high rise building increases, the construction difficulties increase, it is challenging the steel structural building construction technology. In this paper, the key technologies in the construction of Chinese modern super high rise steel structure building have been studied. The innovative tower crane supporting frame suspension disassembly technology has been developed to allow the crane supporting frame to turnover in the air without occupying materials stockyard. A new self-elevating platform technique which is capable of striding over structural barriers has been developed. This new technology allows the platform to be self-elevated along variable cross section column with a maximum 600 mm size change. A new automatic submerged arc welding technology has also been developed to ensure the process continuity and quality stability of welding job on the construction site.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.217-226
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• 2017

This paper summarizes the structural concept and design of the "Nakanoshima Festival Tower West" in Osaka, Japan, which is 200m high and has a super-high damping system. Its superstructure is mainly composed of a central core and outer tube frames. It has a bottom truss structure at the boundary between the low-rise and mid-rise sections of the building, where the column arrangement is changed. Besides, the high-rise section of the building has a neck truss structure. These truss structures smoothly transfer the axial forces of the columns and reduce the flexural deformations induced by horizontal loads. Oil dampers with extremely high damping capacity are installed in the rigid walls named the "Big Wall Frames" of the low-rise section. Moreover, many braces and damping devices are well arranged in the center core of each story. The damping effects of these devices ensure that all structural members are remain within the elastic range and that story drifts are within 1/150 in large earthquakes. This super-high damping structure in the low-rise section is named the "Damping Layer". The whole structural system is named the "Super Damping Structure". The whole structural systems enhance the building's safety, comfort and Business Continuity Planning (BCP) under large earthquakes.