• Wind and Structures
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.505-521
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• 2015

A general approach of aerodynamic optimization of tall buildings is presented in this paper, focusing on how to best compromise wind issues with other design aspects in the most efficient manner. The given approach is reinforced by establishing an empirical method that can quickly assess the across-wind loads and accelerations as a function of building frequencies, building dimensions, aspect ratios, depth-to-width ratios, and site exposures. Effects of corner modifications, including chamfered corner and recessed corner, can also be assessed in early design stages. Further, to assess the effectiveness of optimization by tapering, stepping or twisting building elevations, the authors introduce a method that takes use of sectional aerodynamic data derived from a simple wind tunnel pressure testing to estimate reductions on overall wind loads and accelerations for various optimization options, including tapering, stepping, twisting and/or their combinations. The advantage of the method is to considerably reduce the amount of wind tunnel testing efforts and speed up the process in finding the optimized building configurations.

• Journal of Korean Association for Spatial Structures
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.83-90
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• 2013

A series of wind tunnel tests were conducted on 7 super-tall buildings with various polygon cross-sections, including triangle, square, pentagon, hexagon, octagon, dodecagon, and circular. The primary purpose of the present study is to investigate the effect of increasing number of sides on aerodynamic characteristics for super-tall buildings. Wind tunnel tests were conducted under the turbulent boundary layers whose power-law exponent is 0.27. Fluctuating wind pressures from more than 200 pressure taps were recorded simultaneously, and time series of overturning moments were calculated considering tributary area of each pressure tap. The results show that the overturning moment coefficients and the spectral values decrease with increasing number of sides, and the largest mean and fluctuating overturning moments were found for the triangular super-tall building, and the largest spectral values were found for the square super-tall building. The analysis should be conducted more in detail, but currently it can be roughly said that there seems to be a little differences in the aerodynamic characteristics for the super-tall buildings whose number of sides is larger than 5 or 6.

• 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.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.337-345
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• 2018

Tall buildings are subjected to wind loading that can cause excessive wind-induced vibration. This vibration can affect the activities of the inhabitants of a building and in some cases fear for safety. Many codes and standards propose the use of curves of perception of acceleration that can be used to verify the serviceability limit state; however, these curves of perception do not take into account the uncertainty in wind-climate, structural properties, perception of motion and maximum response. The main objective of this study is to develop an empirical expression that includes these uncertainties in order to be incorporated into a simple procedure to evaluate the wind-induced acceleration in tall buildings. The use of the proposed procedure is described with a numerical example of a tall building located in Mexico.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.287-298
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• 2020

This paper presents an experimental investigation on the surface pressures on the CAARC standard tall building model concerning the effects of freestream turbulence. Two groups of incidence turbulence are generated in the wind tunnel experiment. The first group has an approximately constant turbulence intensity of 10.3% but different turbulence integral scale varying from 0.141 m to 0.599 m or from 0.93 to 5.88 in terms of scale ratio (turbulence integral scale to building dimension). The second group presents similar turbulence integral scale but different turbulence intensity ranging from 7.2% to 13.5%. The experimental results show that the mean pressure coefficients on about half of the axial length of the side faces near the leading edge slightly decrease as the turbulence integral scale ratio that is larger than 4.25 increases, but respond markedly to the changes in turbulence intensity. The root-mean-square (RMS) and peak pressure coefficients depend on both turbulence integral scale and intensity. The RMS pressure coefficients increase with turbulence integral scale and intensity. As the turbulence integral scale increases from 0.141 m to 0.599 m, the mean peak pressure coefficient increases by 7%, 20% and 32% at most on the windward, side faces and leeward of the building model, respectively. As the turbulence intensity increases from 7.2% to 13.5%, the mean value of peak pressure coefficient increases by 47%, 69% and 23% at most on windward, side faces and leeward, respectively. The values of cross-correlations of fluctuating pressures increase as the turbulence integral scale increases, but decrease as turbulence intensity increases in most cases.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.213-220
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• 2020

This paper reflects on the structural design of Haut; a 21-storey high-end residential development in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Construction started in 2019 and is in progress at the time of writing. Upon completion in 2021, Haut will be the first residential building in the Netherlands to achieve a 'BREEAM-outstanding' classification. The building will reach a height of 73 m, making it the highest timber structure in the Netherlands. It contains some 14.500 ㎡ of predominantly residential functions. It features a hybrid concrete-timber stability system and concrete-timber floor panels. This paper describes the concepts behind the structural design for Haut and will touch upon the main challenges that have arisen from the specific combination of characteristics of the project. The paper describes the design of the stability system and -floor system, the analysis of differential movements between concrete and timber structures and wind vibrations. The paper aims to show how the design team has met these specific challenges by implementing a holistic design approach and integrating market knowledge at an early stage of the design.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.391-422
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• 2014

The high frequency force balance (HFFB) technique provides convenient measurements of integrated forces on rigid building models in terms of base bending moments and torque and/or base shear forces. These base moments or forces are then used to approximately estimate the generalized forces of building fundamental modes with mode shape corrections. This paper presents an analysis framework for coupled dynamic response of tall buildings with HFFB technique. The empirical mode shape corrections for generalized forces with coupled mode shapes are validated using measurements of synchronous pressures on a square building surface from a wind tunnel. An alternative approach for estimating the mean and background response components directly using HFFB measurements without mode shape corrections is introduced with a discussion on higher mode contributions. The uncertainty in the mode shape corrections and its influence on predicted responses of buildings with both uncoupled and coupled modal shapes are examined. Furthermore, this paper presents a comparison of aerodynamic base moment spectra with available data sets for various tall building configurations. Finally, e-technology aspects in conjunction with HFFB technique such as web-based on-line analysis framework for buildings with uncoupled mode shapes used in NALD (NatHaz Aerodynamic Loads Database) is discussed, which facilitates the use of HFFB data for preliminary design stages of tall buildings subject to wind loads.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.557-580
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• 2010

A new inflow turbulence generation method and a combined dynamic SGS model recently developed by the authors were applied to evaluate the wind effects on 508 m high Taipei 101 Tower. Unlike the majority of the past studies on large eddy simulation (LES) of wind effects on tall buildings, the present numerical simulations were conducted for the full-scale tall building with Reynolds number greater than $10^8$. The inflow turbulent flow field was generated based on the new method called discretizing and synthesizing of random flow generation technique (DSRFG) with a prominent feature that the generated wind velocity fluctuations satisfy any target spectrum and target profiles of turbulence intensity and turbulence integral length scale. The new dynamic SGS model takes both advantages of one-equation SGS model and a dynamic production term without test-filtering operation, which is particular suitable to relative coarse grid situations and high Reynolds number flows. The results of comparative investigations with and without generation of inflow turbulence show that: (1) proper simulation of an inflow turbulent field is essential in accurate evaluation of dynamic wind loads on a tall building and the prescribed inflow turbulence characteristics can be adequately imposed on the inflow boundary by the DSRFG method; (2) the DSRFG can generate a large number of random vortex-like patterns in oncoming flow, leading to good agreements of both mean and dynamic forces with wind tunnel test results; (3) The dynamic mechanism of the adopted SGS model behaves adequately in the present LES and its integration with the DSRFG technique can provide satisfactory predictions of the wind effects on the super-tall building.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.89-98
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• 2014

Employing tilted forms in tall buildings is a relatively new architectural phenomenon, as are the cases with the Gate of Europe Towers in Madrid and the Veer Towers in Las Vegas. This paper studies structural system design options for tilted tall buildings and their performances. Tilted tall buildings are designed with various structural systems, such as braced tubes, diagrids and outrigger systems, and their structural performances are studied. Structural design of today's tall buildings built with higher strength materials is generally governed by lateral stiffness. Tilted towers are deformed laterally not only by lateral loads but also by dead and live loads due to their eccentricity. The impact of tilting tall buildings on the gravity and lateral load resisting systems is studied. Comparative evaluation of structural systems for tilted tall buildings is presented.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.517-536
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• 2011

The assessment of wind-induced motion plays an important role in the development and design of the majority of today's structures that push the limits of engineering knowledge. A vital part of the design is the prediction of wind-induced tall building motion and the assessment of its effects on occupant comfort. Little of the research that has led to the development of the various international standards for occupant comfort criteria have considered the effects of the low-frequency motion on task performance and interference with building occupants' daily activities. It has only recently become more widely recognized that it is no longer reasonable to assume that the level of motion that a tall building undergoes in a windstorm will fall below an occupants' level of perception and little is known about how this motion perception could also impact on task performance. Experimental research was conducted to evaluate the performance of individuals engaged in a manual tracking task while subjected to low level vibration in the frequency range of 0.125 Hz-0.50 Hz. The investigations were carried out under narrow-band random vibration with accelerations ranging from 2 milli-g to 30 milli-g (where 1 milli-g = 0.0098 $m/s^2$) and included a control condition. The frequencies and accelerations simulated are representative of the level of motion expected to occur in a tall building (heights in the range of 100 m -350 m) once every few months to once every few years. Performance of the test subjects with and without vibration was determined for 15 separate test conditions and evaluated in terms of time taken to complete a task and accuracy per trial. Overall, the performance under the vibration conditions did not vary significantly from that of the control condition, nor was there a statistically significant degradation or improvement trend in performance ability as a function of increasing frequency or acceleration.