• 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.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.271-291
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• 2016

There is much architectural and engineering literature which discusses the virtues of exterior bracing and diagrid systems in regards to sustainability - two systems which generally reduce building materials, enhance structural performance, and decrease overall construction cost. By surveying past, present as well as possible future towers, this paper examines another attribute of these structural systems - the blend of structural functionality and aesthetics. Given the external nature of these structural systems, diagrids and exterior bracings can visually communicate the inherent structural logic of a building while also serving as a medium for artistic effect. Viewed in this light, the visual appeal of these systems can be enhanced to give a tower a more distinct urban identity. This entails the creation of structural elements that are aesthetically pleasing, geometrically coherent and that demonstrate dexterity of application in regards to a building's composition, while also respecting the laws of physics and mechanics. In this fashion, an artistic approach can exhibit structural systems as not just purely rational features that enable the construction of tall buildings, but as important visual components that afford opportunities for creative expression. This paper, therefore, synthesizes the concepts of structural performance and creative artistry to facilitate a better understanding of the aesthetic developments in skyscrapers worldwide.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.89-98
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• 2018

For most full-scale tall buildings the Reynolds number of a flow field around a circular cylinder under strong wind is usually greater than $2{\times}10^7$, which is difficult to achieve in most wind tunnel tests. To explore the wind characteristics of tall cylindrical buildings with equidirectional grooves from subcritical to transcritical flow ($6.6{\times}10^4{\leq}Re{\leq}3.3{\times}10^5$ and $9.9{\times}10^6{\leq}Re{\leq}7.2{\times}10^7$), wind tunnel tests and full-scale large eddy simulations were carried out. The results showed that the rectangular-grooves narrow the wake width due to the downstream movement of the separation point and the deeper grooves cause smaller mean and fluctuating pressure while the peak pressure is little affected. Furthermore, the grooves lead to lower frequency of vortex shedding but the Strouhal number remains at the range from 0.15 to 0.35. The drag coefficient of the cylinders with grooves was found to be 2~3 times as large as that of smooth cylinders.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.91-98
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• 2012

As the occurrence rate of terror and hazard is increasing throughout the world, GSA, DoD, and FEMA are proceeding a study about mitigating the damage of terror. Korea is no more a safe place from the terrorist's threat, so we need to make measures against them. In this study we developed modified RVS System by revising some items to adjust the system to the domestic condition and conducted a risk assessment on several tall buildings in Korea. By using IRVS system which is developed by DHS, we also carried out the risk assessment. Comparing the results between RVS with IRVS, we performed terror risk evaluation of tall buildings. Through risk assessment of several tall buildings, we analyzed key factors of each scenarios and suggested the mean value of each items, so we would like to help the counter-terrorism in the design phase.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.53-60
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• 2020

"A practical architect might not unnaturally conceive the idea of erecting a vast edifice whose frame should be entirely of iron, and clothing the frame--preserving it--by means of a casing of stone…that shell must be regarded only as an envelope, having no function other than supporting itself..." --Viollet-le-Duc, 1868. Viollet-le-Duc's recipe for an encased iron frame foresaw the separation of structural and enclosing functions into discrete systems. This separation is an essential characteristic of skyscrapers today, but at the time of his writing cast iron's brittle nature meant that iron frames could not, on their own, resist lateral forces in tall structures. Instead, tall buildings had to be braced with masonry shear walls, which often also served as environmental enclosure. The commercial availability of steel after the 1880s allowed for self-braced metal frames while parallel advances in glass and terra cotta allowed exterior walls to achieve vanishingly thin proportions. Two Chicago buildings by D.H. Burnham & Co. were the first to match a frame "entirely of iron" with an "envelope" supporting only itself. The Reliance Building (1895) was the first of these, but the Fisher Building (1896) more fully exploited this new constructive typology, eschewing brick entirely, to become the first "building without walls," a break with millennia of tall construction reliant upon masonry

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.33-56
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• 2024

This paper examines China's rapid shift from low-rise to high-rise urban development, focusing on Shanghai as a case study. It provides a detailed analysis of the rapid vertical developments over the past five decades, highlighting gradual and sudden tall building changes. The study also surveys tall building development in the ten "tallest cities" across China, including Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Wuhan, Chongqing, Chengdu, Shenyang, Hangzhou, and Nanning, while listing the tallest ten buildings in each city. The focus is on the drivers behind these towering structures: globalization, an economic powerhouse, and finance center, urbanization and population density, architectural innovation and ambition, competition and prestige, land availability and utilization, government support and planning, and tourism. The paper critically examines the sustainability of this trend in light of new Chinese policies restricting the construction of high-rise buildings exceeding 500m and 250m in smaller cities due to safety and security concerns. This prompts a reflection on the long-term viability and implications of the predominantly high-rise trajectory in urban development.

• Journal of Korean Society of Steel Construction
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.349-356
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• 2011

In this paper, the optimal diagrid angle of atypical tall buildings has been found using diagrid optimization technique which is based on parametric algorithm. A diagrid is a diagonal grid which can be seen among atypical tall buildings and structures which effectively resist horizontal and vertical direction loads. Therefore, it is also the objective of this studyto find the maximum stiffness of atypical tall buildings by optimizing diagrid angle. Moreover, this study touches on both cylindrical and tapered off cylindrical structures, as shown in the examples to check the compatibility of optimum diagrid angle, which effectively resists horizontal deformation on top by optimization algorithm.

• Journal of Construction Engineering and Project Management
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.17-22
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• 2013

In many urban cities, super-tall buildings have been being constructed around New York and Chicago as the center since 1930 to improve the efficiency of land use and respond to new residential type. In terms of energy consumption, super-tall buildings are classified as a top energy consumption building. Also, as time passed, the degradation of energy performance occurs in super-tall buildings like general things so that these cannot show the initial performance planned in the design phase. Accordingly, building owners need to make a plan to apply energy saving measures to existing building during the operation phase. In order to select energy saving measures, calculus-based methods and enumerative schemes have been typically used. However, these methods are time-consuming and previous studies which used these methods have problems with not considering the initial construction cost. Consequently, this study proposes a model for selecting an optimal combination of energy saving measures which derives maximum energy saving within allowable cost using genetic algorithms. As a contribution of this research, it would be expected that a model is utilized as one of the decision-making tools during the planning stage for energy saving.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
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• v.5 no.4 s.18
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• pp.101-108
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• 2005

The investigations for mitigating wind-induced excitations of tall buildings have been carried out. The aerodynamic modification of a building shape changing the cross-section with height through tapering, which alters the flow pattern around the building, could reduce wind induced excitations of tall buildings. The fart that a tapered tall building might spread the vortex-shedding over a broad range of frequencies makes more effective for reducing acrosswind responses has been established. In this paper, to investigate the tapering effect for reducing wind-induced responses of a tapered tall building, high-frequency force-balance test was conducted. The six types of building models which have different taper ratio of 2.5%, 5%, 7.5%, 10%, 15% and one basic building model of a square cross-section were tested under the two typical boundary layers representing suburban and urban flow environment. The effect of wind direction was also considered.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.43-57
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• 1998

A three-degree-of-freedom base hinged assembly (BHA) for aeroelastic model tests of tall building was developed. The integral parts of a BHA, which consists of two perpendicular plane frames and a flexural pivot, enable this modeling technique to independently simulate building translational and torsional degree-of-freedom. A program of wind tunnel aeroelastic model tests of the CAARC standard tall building was conducted with emphasis on the effect of (a) torsional motion, (b) cross-wind/torsional frequency ratio and (c) the presence of an eccentricity between center of mass and center of stiffness on wind-induced response characteristics. The experimental results highlight the significant effect of coupled translational-torsional motion and the effect of eccentricity between center of mass and center of stiffness on the resultant rms acceleration responses in both along-wind and cross-wind directions especially at operating reduced wind velocities close to a critical value of 10. In addition, it was sound that the vortex shedding process remains the main excitation mechanism in cross-wind direction even in case of tall buildings with coupled translational-torsional motion and with eccentricity.