• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.161-167
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• 2019

Making full use of material strength, maintaining sufficient ductility of structural components, and ensuring simple and robust connections are crucial to the development of steel-concrete composite structures. The steel-tubed concrete structure uses thin-walled steel tube to provide confinement, so that the strength and ductility of the concrete core are improved. Meanwhile, the thin-walled steel tube is terminated at the beam-column joint to avoid the local buckling problem and simplify the connections between steel tube and RC members. A brief overview of the development of steel-tubed concrete structures is presented. Through the discussion on the structural behavior of steel-tubed concrete and the introduction of typical practical projects, the prospects for future research are highlighted.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.369-381
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• 2015

Moore, Oklahoma was hit by an EF5 tornado on May 20, 2013. The tornado track slightly overlapped with two previous tornadoes that occurred on May 3, 1999 and May 8, 2003 respectively. A research team from Texas Tech University was deployed to investigate the performance of shelters based on observation of their post-storm conditions. Sixty-one shelter units were further documented by size, manufacturer, and date of installation if available. Then they were crossed referenced with the external databases to determine their compliance with design and construction standards by the International Code Council/National Storm Shelter Association and/or criteria from the Federal Emergency Management Agency publications. Wind intensity was estimated for each shelter location using the EF scale. Results showed a marked increase in the number of exterior underground shelters as well as the popularity of a new in-garage floor underground shelter design. All of the units provided protection for their occupants with no loss of life reported. However, one older shelter had a door failure due to neglect of maintenance. Recommendations were made to improve future performance of shelters.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.99-107
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• 2021

This research investigates the potential of Adaptive TMDs for tall building damping. The Adaptive TMD under consideration is based on real-time controlled hydraulic dampers generating purely dissipative control forces. The control approach is designed to enhance the Adaptive TMD efficiency for moderate wind loads with return periods below 50 years. The resulting enhanced TMD efficiency is used to reduce the pendulum mass by 15% compared to the passive TMD while still guaranteeing the acceleration limits of the one and ten year return period winds. Furthermore, the adaptive control approach is designed to disproportionally increase the controlled damping force at wind loads with return periods of 50 years and more in order to reduce the maximum relative motion of the Adaptive TMD with only 85% pendulum mass. Compared to the passive TMD with 100% pendulum mass the maximum relative motion is reduced by 20%. Both the pendulum mass reduction and the maximum relative motion reduction significantly reduce the foot print of the Adaptive TMD which is highly desirable from the economic point of view.

• 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.10 no.1
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• pp.35-43
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• 2021

With the rapid urbanization and growing energy use intensity in the built environment, the glazed curtainwall has become ever more important in the architectural practice and environmental stewardship. Besides its energy efficiency roles, window has been an important transparent component for daylight penetration and a view-out for occupant satisfaction. In response to the climate crisis caused by the built environment, this research focuses on the study of net-zero energy retrofitting by using a new building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) curtainwall as a sustainable alternative to conventional window systems. Design variables such as building orientations, climate zones, energy attributes of BIPV curtainwalls, and glazed area were studied, to minimize energy consumption and discomfort hours for three cities representing hot (Miami, FL), mixed (Charlotte, NC), and cold (Minneapolis, MN). Parametric analysis and Pareto solutions are presented to provide a comprehensive explanation of the correlation between design variables and performance objectives for net-zero energy retrofitting applications.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.137-147
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• 2021

The principle of energy dissipation technology is to dissipate or absorb the seismic energy input through the deformation or velocity change of dampers installed in the main structure of high-rise buildings, so as to reduce the seismic response of the buildings. With the development of energy dissipation technology, recognized as an effective and new measurement for reducing seismic effects, its application in high-rise buildings has become more and more popular. The appropriate energy dissipation devices suitable for high-rise buildings are introduced in this paper. The effectiveness of energy-dissipation technology for reducing the seismic response of high-rise buildings with various structural forms is demonstrated with a number of actual examples of high-rise buildings equipped with various energy dissipation devices.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.221-226
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• 2022

Installation of Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) system is a legal obligation for high-rise buildings over 200 m or 50-floor high in South Korea. CNP Dongyang has developed key technologies for SHM system design, installation, and data analyzing. Also, CNP Dongyang has applied SHM technology to a plenty of South Korea's representative high-rise buildings. The SHM technology, also, could be used in safety management of construction phase, evaluation of structural performance, etc. In this paper, state of the art SHM technologies and their application examples are introduced to give insight for future research and practical use of SHM.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.189-196
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• 2022

The practical difficulties of construction will impose many restrictions on the structural design, and the construction method can also provide unexpected ideas for solving design problems. Through the discussion of three issues closely related to construction in the structural design of Wuhan Center, this paper illustrates the importance of in-depth consideration of the construction situations in the structural design stage. The topics of "Connection between Embedded Steel Plates in Steel Plate Composite Shear Wall" and "Connection Joint between Outrigger Truss and Core Wall" are about how to facilitate on-site construction by simplifying and optimizing detail design. The topic of "Adjusting Internal Force Distribution by Optimizing Construction Sequence" is about how to make the construction process a tool for structural design.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.207-219
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• 2022

During the structural design of urban over-track high-rise buildings, two problems are most likely encountered: the abrupt change of story stiffness between the podium and the upper towers, as well as the demand for train-induced vibration control. Traditional earthquake-resistant structures have to be particularly designed with transfer stories to meet the requirement of seismic control under earthquakes, and thus horizontal seismic isolation techniques are recommended to solve the transfer problem. The function of mitigating the vertical subway-induced vibration can be integrated into the isolation system including thick rubber bearings and 3D composite vibration control devices. Engineering project cases are presented in this paper for a more comprehensive understanding of the engineering practice and research frontiers of urban over-track high-rise buildings in China.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.11-18
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• 2023

The urbanity of high-rise buildings does not simply reference their physical characteristics but also encompasses their impact on the overall urban environment and the daily lives of citizens. This involves the economic benefits, social development, urban culture and public activities that high-rise buildings bring to a city. High-rise buildings are an important aspect of urban development and play a crucial role in providing public services in high-density urban habitats. However, to ensure that their contribution to the city is positive, it is essential to take into account their impact on surrounding buildings and the built environment. This paper analyzes their urban attributes and value system and summarizes their current development status. In short, as the demand for public services continues to evolve, it is necessary for high-rise buildings to keep up with these changes by continuously enhancing their urbanity.