• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.155-171
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• 2013

This study analytically evaluated the seismic performance of wind-designed diagrid tall steel buildings in regions of moderate/low seismicity and strong winds. To this end, diagrid tall steel buildings with varying wind exposure and slenderness ratio (building height-to-width ratio) conditions were designed to satisfy the wind serviceability criteria specified in the Korean Building Code and the National Building Code of Canada. A series of seismic analyses were then performed for earthquakes having 43- and 2475- year return periods utilizing the design guidelines of tall buildings. The analyses demonstrated the good seismic performance of these wind-designed diagrid tall steel buildings, which arises because significant overstrength of the diagrid system occurs in the wind design procedure. Also, analysis showed that the elastic seismic design process of diagrid tall steel buildings might be accepted based on some wind exposures and slenderness ratios.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.293-304
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• 2016

The diagrid structural system for constructing tall buildings is a recent invention. Debuting in 2004 with the construction of the Swiss Re Tower in London, this aesthetically driven structural system has centered the perfecting of its technology on the development of the nodes that form its innovative deviation from standard steel tall framing methods. The paper examines variations in node design, understanding the linked dependence the modularity and the choice to expose the steel in the building, as well as on advances in digital modelling that allow an increasingly seamless line of communication from the engineering design through to the actual fabrication of the nodes. This advanced design and fabrication technology will be seen to have resulted in the expanded use of the technical term "node" to inform the design and construction of a range of other applications in the structuring of tall buildings, including the use of steel castings.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.171-185
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• 2001

The design of tall buildings has recently provided many challenges to structural engineers. One such challenge is to minimise the cross-sectional dimensions of columns to ensure greater floor space in a building is attainable. This has both an economic and aesthetics benefit in buildings, which require structural engineering solutions. The use of high strength steel in tall buildings has the ability to achieve these benefits as the material provides a higher strength to cross-section ratio. However as the strength of the steel is increased the buckling characteristics become more dominant with slenderness limits for both local and global buckling becoming more significant. To arrest the problems associated with buckling of high strength steel, concrete filling and encasement can be utilised as it has the affect of changing the buckling mode, which increases the strength and stiffness of the member. This paper describes an experimental program undertaken for both encased and concrete filled composite columns, which were designed to be stocky in nature and thus fail by strength alone. The columns were designed to consider the strength in axial compression and were fabricated from high strength steel plate. In addition to the encased and concrete filled columns, unencased columns and hollow columns were also fabricated and tested to act as calibration specimens. A model for the axial strength was suggested and this is shown to compare well with the test results. Finally aspects of further research are addressed in this paper which include considering the effects of slender columns which may fail by global instabilities.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.245-253
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• 2020

With the ever-increasing height of timber buildings, the complexity of timber as a structural material gives rise to behaviors not previously studied by engineers. An urgent call is needed regarding their performance in damage scenarios: activating alternative load paths in tall timber buildings is not the same as in tall buildings made with steel and concrete. In this paper we propose a robustness framework covering all building materials, whose application in timber may lead to new conceptual designs for the next generation of tall timber buildings. Qualitatively, the importance of building scale and the distinction between localized and systematic exposures are discussed, and how existing supertall structures can be an example for future generations of tall timber buildings. Quantitatively, the robustness index is introduced alongside a method to calculate the performance of a given building regarding robustness, in order to find the most cost-effective structural solutions for improved robustness. A three-level application recommendation is made, depending on the importance of the building in question. Primarily, the paper highlights the importance of conceptual design to achieve structural robustness and encourages the practicing engineering community to use the proposed framework to quantitatively come up with the new generation of tall timber buildings.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.43 no.6
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• pp.711-724
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• 2012

The goal of this study is to conceptually orientate optimized layouts of outrigger belt trusses which are in widespread use today in the design of tall buildings by strut-and-tie truss models utilizing a topology optimization method. In this study unknown strut-and-tie models are realized by using a typical SIMP method of topology optimization methods. In tradition strut-and-tie model designs find the appropriate strut-and-tie trusses along force paths with respect to elastic stress distribution, and then engineers or designers determine the most proper truss models by experience and intuition. It is linked to a trial-and-error procedure based on heuristic strategies. The presented strut-and tie model design by using SIMP provides that belt truss models are automatically and robustly produced by optimal layout information of struts-and-ties conforming to force paths without any trial-and-error. Numerical applications are studied to verify that outrigger belt trusses for tall buildings are optimally chosen by the proposed method for both static and dynamic responses.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.21-30
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• 2016

The structural efficiency of tall buildings heavily depends on the lateral stiffness and resistance capacity. Among those structural systems for tall buildings, outrigger system is one of the most common and efficient systems especially for those with relatively regular floor plan. The use of outriggers in building structures can be traced back from early 50 from the concept of deep beams. With the rise of building height, deep beams become concrete walls or now in a form of at least one story high steel truss type of outriggers. Because of the widened choice in material to be adopted in outriggers, the form and even the objective of using outrigger system is also changing. In the past, outrigger systems is only used to provide additional stiffness to reduce drift and deflection. New applications for outrigger systems now move to provide additional damping to reduce wind load and acceleration, and also could be used as structural fuse to protect the building under a severe earthquake condition. Besides analysis and member design, construction issue of outrigger systems is somehow cannot be separated. Axial shortening effect between core and perimeter structure is unavoidable. This paper presents a state-of-the-art review on the outrigger system in tall buildings including development history and applications of outrigger systems in tall buildings. The concept of outrigger system, optimum topology, and design and construction consideration will also be discussed and presented.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.319-326
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• 2016

The ingenuity of structural engineers in the field of tall and super-tall buildings has led to some of the most remarkable inventions. During this evolution of structural engineering concepts in the last 100 years, the technical challenges that engineers encountered were extraordinary and the advances were unprecedented. However, as the accomplishments of structural engineers are progressing, the desire for taller and safer structures is also increasing. The diagrid structural system is part of this evolving process as it develops a new paradigm for tall building design combining engineering efficiency and new architectural expression. The first appearances of this type of tall buildings have already been constructed and the interest of both engineering and architectural communities is growing mainly due to the many advantages compared to other structural systems. This paper presents a simple approach on optimizing member sizes for the diagonals of steel diagrid tall buildings. The optimizing method is based on minimizing the volume of the diagonal elements of a diagrid structure. The constraints are coming from the stiffness-based design, limiting the tip deflection of the building to widely accepted regulative limits. In addition, the current paper attempts to open the discussion on the important topic of optimization and robustness for tall buildings and also studies the future of the diagrid structural system.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.123-135
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• 2021

Solid Viscoelastic Coupling Dampers (VCDs) provide distributed damping that improves the dynamic performance of tall buildings for both wind-storms and earthquakes for all amplitudes of vibration. They are configured in place of typical structural members in tall buildings and therefore do not occupy any architectural space. This paper summarizes the research and development at the University of Toronto in collaboration with Nippon Steel Engineering, 3M and Kinetica over the past two decades. In addition, impact studies on buildings incorporating the VCDs are presented, consisting of a wind sensitive 66-story building in Toronto, a dual-wind and seismic performance-based design of a 4-tower development in Manila and finally a 630 meter Megatall building in Southeast Asia in a severe seismic environment. In all applications the VCDs are shown to provide significant benefits in the dynamic performance under both wind and earthquake loading in a cost-effective manner.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.251-262
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• 2016

Tall Buildings have been one of the most prominent symbols of economic growth for nearly a century. Yet, in the aftermath of the tragedies of September 11, "signature" Tall buildings have become the focus of much debate. The structural systems today are undergoing a major evolution to address the ability of providing flexibility in the design and use of the building together with sustainability (Green) and cost-effective system. This paper describes a new invented structural system, evolutionary structural analysis and design of Tall buildings, which involves the entire analysis process, including conceptual and design stages and comparison with the existing Tall building. This study presents an new innovative structural system, Beehive (Hexagrid), for Tall buildings. The final results are achieved by modeling an 80 story Tall building with the optimized angle and topology of hexagon members by using a computer analysis, ETABS finite element analysis. The objective function of this system is to use one structural system in order to both maximize Eigen frequency for resisting dynamic responses and minimize mean compliance for static responses. Finite element analysis is carried out by using standardized materials. Optimal Hexagrid topologies with the highest stiffness are finally determined to resist both static and dynamic behaviors. Holistic design integration approaches between structures and facades to save energy for environmental control are studied. Innovative design ideas to control structural motion as well as to utilize that motion to harness energy are discussed. Considering abundant emergence of tall buildings all over the world in recent years, the importance of the studies presented in this paper cannot be overemphasized for constructing more sustainable built environments.

• Advances in Computational Design
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.17-34
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• 2018

Tall buildings are categorized as important structures because of the large number of occupants and high construction costs. The choice of competent lateral load resisting systems in tall buildings is of crucial importance. Bracing systems have long been an economic and effective method for resisting lateral loads in steel structures. However, there are some potential adverse aspects to bracing systems such as the limitations they inflict on architectural plans, uplift forces and poor performances in compression. in order to eliminate the mentioned problems and for cost optimization, in this paper, six 20-story steel buildings and frames with different types of bracing, i.e., conventional, mega-scale and buckling-restrained bracing (BRB) were analyzed. Linear and modal push-over analyses were carried out. The results pointed out that Mega-Scale Bracing (MSB) system has significant superiority over the conventional bracing type. The MSB system is 25% more economic. Some other advantages of MSB include: up to 63% less drift ratio, up to 38% better performance in lateral displacement, up to 100% stiffer stories, and about 50% smaller uplift forces. Moreover, MSB equipped with BRB attests even a better seismic behavior in the aforementioned parameters.