High-rise Buildings N

Structural Systems for High-rise Buildings

( Lecture notes prepared by: Prof. Dr. JAHANGIR BAKHTERI )

Architect and the Engineer:

An architect usually deals with a design problem such as a high-rise building

in a comprehensive manner, and stresses an overall, rather than an elemental
approach to design thinking.

An engineer thinks in the reverse manner, starting with details, and without
sufficient regards for overall picture.

The principal form giver of a building is the architect, who must develop the
self-confidence to express the strength and inherent beauty of structure and
materials. He needs to understand the laws of nature as reflected by the play
of forces in the building assemblage.
Sears Tower, Chicago, USA Petronas Twin Tower, Malaysia
Taipei 101 Tower, Taiwan
Burj Dubai Tower:
Tallest structure in the world.
Total height 600 m, now
completed.
 MIT sues architect Gehry, flaws in building

BOSTON -- Massachusetts Institute of Technology

is suing renowned architect Frank Gehry, alleging
serious design flaws in the Stata Center, a building
celebrated for its unconventional walls and radical
angles.

The school asserts the center, completed in spring

2004, has persistent leaks, drainage problems and
mold growing on its brick exterior. It says
accumulations of snow and ice have fallen
dangerously from window boxes and other areas of
its roofs, blocking emergency exits and causing
damage
The suit says MIT paid
Los Angeles-based Gehry
Partners $15 million to
design the Stata Center,
which cost $300 million
to build. It houses labs,
offices, classrooms
and meeting rooms.
"Gehry breached its
duties by providing
deficient design services
and drawings," according
to the suit, which also
names New Jersey-based
Beacon Skanska
Construction Co., now
known as Skanska USA
Building Inc. The suit,
filed Oct. 31, 2007 seeks
unspecified damages.
 History of Development of High-rise Buildings:

Throughout history, man has always tried to express his greatness by

building monuments as high as he could practically achieve, with the
Egyptian pyramid as the best example.
- Egyptian pyramids made from masonry blocks are 481ft. high which is
equivalent to a 40-storey building.
- In 1907 the 47-storey Singer skyscraper in New York was built.
- For centuries there were two basic materials used in construction: wood
and masonry
- Development of new construction materials such as concrete & steel and
advanced technologies in construction made it possible to construct
high-rise buildings.
During the 1960s and 70s, F.R. Khan became the most prominent
innovator in the area of high-rise buildings, both in concrete and steel. The
methodology of shear wall-frame interaction in high-rise building was
developed by him in 1964, in which the stiffness of frame building could be
enhanced up to several times. Then, he initiated tubular design concept in
high-rise buildings and applied in design & construction of several building
structures. After that his next innovation was tube in tube concept in tall
buildings.
The innovations introduced by Khan not only improved the rigidity of tall
buildings, but also resulted in substantial economics over the cost of
buildings designed using traditional schemes.

Nowadays, the many efficient, large, sophisticated two and three

dimensional computer programs have made the analysis of complicated
structure much simpler, more economical, and accessible to the designers.
Contributing Factors to the Development High-Rise Buildings
(Assignment No. 1)
(1) There are four major factors which contributed to the development of
high-rise building which are:
(a) Development of high-strength materials
(b) Development of new design concepts
(c) Development of new structural systems
(d) Improved construction methods (Explain every one of them briefly)
Need for High-rise buildings:
High-rise buildings are closely related to the city; they are a natural
response to dense population concentration, shortage of land, and high
land costs. A tall building is an integral part of one large building
organism, the city, where the building or activity cells are interconnected
by multilevel movement systems.
High-rise buildings range in height from 10 to more than 100 stories.
Factors which governs/controls the height or the massing of a building
are: the client’s needs versus the land available, necessary services to
support the building and its inhabitants, the ecological impact of the
building,
What are the Problems caused by high-rise buildings?
Some impacts of skyscrapers on the city:

Example: 109 storey Sears Tower in Chicago, USA, The building’s electrical
system can serve a city of 147000 people and its air conditioning complex
can cool 6000 one-family houses. A total of 102 elevators distribute about
16500 daily users to different parts of the building. Since the building
contains all necessary supports services facilities such as shopping,
entertainment, health, education, security, parking and other utilities,
therefore, people seldom leave it.

Load Action on High-Rise Buildings:

Loads acting on a structure are generated either directly by the forces of

nature or by man himself. In other words, there are two basic sources for
building loads: geophysical and man-made. Fig.1 represents sources of
building loads.
The geophysical forces are the result of continuous changes in nature,
which include gravitational loads, meteorological loads and seismological
forces. Gravitational loads include weight of the structure (Dead load), and
occupants of the building (Live load). Meteorological loads are wind loads,
rain & snow loads, temperature stresses. Seismological forces are
generated by the ground motion (i.e. earthquake forces).
Fig. 1 Sources of Building Loads
The structural facade is exposed to the controlled temperature of the interior
building environment and the daily and seasonal changes of weather. These
changes in temperature causes additional stress in the buildings. The
structure will have contraction for temperature drop and expansion for
temperature increase.
Creep is the time-dependent deformation that occurs in concrete for years
after the initial loading deformation. Creep in concrete members is
dependent on the magnitude of the stress, the length of time that the stress
is applied, and the age and strength of concrete
Shrinkage is a major cause for volume change in concrete and generally
characterized by a gradual loss of moisture within the concrete member. As
shrinkage stresses appear, additional restraint is required which, in turn,
places additional loads on the structure.
The man-made sources of loading are the shocks generated by cars,
elevators, machines and equipment. They can be caused by blasts and
impacts as well.
Locked-in stresses can be created by the prestressing of concrete. Forces
can also be locked into the structure during construction processes through
restrained volumes.
 Loads and Forces in Building Structures

Loads acting in building structures are:

(a)Dead Loads: Dead loads include the weight of all permanent components of the
structure and any other immovable loads that are constant in magnitude and
permanently attached to the structure.
(b)Imposed Loads: Imposed loads are loads and forces that act on a structure by
character of use of the structure to the nature of use, activities due to people,
machinery installation, external forces etc. These loads are:
i) Live Loads
ii) Wind Loads
iii) Earthquake Loads
iv) Snow and Rain Loads
v) Soil and Hydrostatic Forces
vi) Erection Loads
vii) Other Forces; such as impact, vibration, temperature effects, shrinkage,
creep and forces due to the settlement of foundations.
Wind Effect on Tall Buildings

In old day’s skyscrapers, the enormous weight of masonry walls, relatively

thick slab and larger structural elements were such that wind action could
not overcome the locked-in-gravity forces.
The modern glass-walled skyscrapers with their optimum interior open
space have taken away the overall rigidity of the structure and wind action
has become a major problem for the designers of high-rise structures.
The wind loading on a building is influenced by the environment factors
such as large-scale roughness, shape and slenderness of the building and
wind speed.
The mean wind velocity and wind pressure in general increases with height
of the building as shown in Fig. 2

Fig. 2 Variations of wind velocity

and wind pressure on a building
Calculation of wind pressure on tall buildings:

Based on B.S(British Standard), the characteristics wind pressure on a

structure will be:
Wk = 0.613Vs2
Where, Wk in N/m2 is characteristic wind pressure and Vs is design wind
speed in m/sec which can be calculated as follows:
Vs = VS1S2S3
Where, V = basic wind speed in m/sec
S1 = multiplying factor relating to topology
S2 = multiplying factor relating to height above ground and wind
braking.
S3 = multiplying factor related to life of structure
Note1: S1 may generally always be taken as unity except in the following
cases:
(a) On site adversely affected by very exposed hill slopes and crests where
wind acceleration is known to occur: S1 = 1.1
(b) On site in enclosed steep-sided valleys completely sheltered from wind:
S1 = 0.9
Note2: S3 is a probability factor relating the likelihood of the design wind speed
being exceeded to the probable life of the structure. A value of unity is
recommended for general use and corresponds to an excessive speed occurring
once in fifty years.
S2 for various heights of buildings can be taken from Table 1.
Notes:
h is height (in meters) above general level of terrain to top of structure or part
of structure.

Topographical factors
1. open country with no obstructions
2. open country with scattered wind-breaks
3. country with many wind-breaks; small towns; suburbs of large cities
4. city centers and other environments with large and frequent obstructions
Example of wind forces calculation
Assume an eight story framed office building shown below (Fig. D) is located in
Kabul City’s suburb (e.g. Gardanai Baghe Bala). Calculate the wind forces on the
structure assuming basic wind speed to be 40m/sec and the building is 22.5m by
22.5m in plan and having a 24m height above ground level.
Characteristic wind pressure is Wk = 0.613 Vs2 , where,
Vs = design wind speed in m/sec = VS1S2S3
V = basic wind speed in m/sec
S1 = multiplying factor relating to topology
S2 = multiplying factor relating to height above ground and wind braking
S3 = multiplying factor related to life of structure
Assume basic wind speed of V = 40m/sec
In an hilly area the value for S1 = 1.1
The probability factor the life of structure S3 = 1
S2 the height factor for the structure with a height 24m and open country form with no
obstructions from the Table-1 using interpolation will be S2 = 1.026
Therefore, the design wind speed Vs = VS1S2S3 = 40 x 1.1 x 1 x 1.026 = 45.144 m/sec
Characteristic wind pressure = 0.613 x (45.144)2 = 1285.97 N/m2 = 1.28597kN/m2
Wind pressure on an interior frame will be Wki = 1.28597 x 7.5 = 9.645 kN/m
Wind concentrated force at each floor level will be Wp = 9.645 x 3 = 28.934 kN
Wind concentrated force at roof level will be Wkr = 9.645 x 1.5 = 14.467 kN
The concentrated forces due to wind pressure on the building in different floors and roof
level are shown in Fig. E below.
Example of earthquake forces
Calculation:
Assume an eight stories framed office
building with live loads of 2.5 kN/m2
shown below (Fig. A) is located in
seismic zone III. Calculate the seismic
forces on the structure using seismic
coefficient method. Assume roof and
floor slabs thicknesses of 150mm,
beams section 250mm by 400mm,
columns section 400mm by 500mm
and story height is 3.0m.
As recommended by the codes assume
25% live loads are acting during
earthquake.
(a) Dead Loads
Weight of beams = 24 x 0.25 x 0.4 x 7.5 x 24 = 432.0 kN
Weight of columns = 16 x 0.4 x 0.5 x 3 x 24 = 230.4 kN
Weight of slabs = 22.5 x 22.5 x 0.15 x 24 = 1822.5 kN
Weight of walls = 22.5 x 4 x 3 x 0,12 x 20 = 648.0 kN
(b) Live loads
Live loads at all floors = 22.5 x 22.5 x 2.5 x 0.25 = 316.4 kN
(c)Lumped mass at floor level 1 = W1 = 432.0 + 230.4 + 1822.5 + 648.0 + 316.4
= 3449.3 kN
Similarly W1 = W2 = W3 = W4 = W5 = W6 = W7 = 3449.3 kN
Lumped mass at roof floor = 2693.7 kN ( no. L L)
(d) Base shear, VB = C αh W = C β I α0 W
where, C is a coefficient defining the flexibility of structure with the increase in
number of stories depending upon fundamental time period T and given in Fig. B,
αh = β I α0 and β is a coefficient depending upon soil – foundation system, I is
importance factor for the structure, and α0 is basic horizontal seismic coefficient.
W = Total gravity loads of the building = 7 x 3449.3 + 2693.7 = 26838.8 kN
Building is without bracing of shear walls therefore based on code, T = 0.1 x n
where, T is fundamental time period and n is the number of stores including
basement stores.
T = 0.1 x 8 = 0.8 seconds
Assume the building is located in zone III and rested on raft foundation then,
β = 1.0, I = 1.0, and
α0 = 0.04, αh = β I α0 = 1 x 1 x 0.04 = 0.04
Value of C from Fig. B below; for T = 0.8 seconds is C = 0.65 Therefore, the
base shear is
VB = 0.65 x 0.04 x 26838.8, = 697.8 kN

(e) Distribution of lateral seismic force induced along the height of the building
and shear distribution in the building are given by the formulas,
 In which hi is the height of ith floor measured from the base of the building.
Therefore, h1 = 3m,
h2 = 6m, h3 = 9m, h4 = 12m, h5 = 15m, h6 = 18m, h7 = 21, and h8 = 24m,
With these forces Q1 to Q8 are worked out and shear force in the various stories are
computed as
Note: The seismic shear force for which the building is to be designed is indicated
in the last column of the Table Q and shown in the Fig. C .
Assignment # 2
(a) Assume a twelve story RCC framed office building shown below (Fig. A) is
located in Pulicharkhi, Kabul. Calculate the wind forces on a central frame of the
structure assuming basic wind speed to be 45m/sec and the building is 21m by 21m in
plan and having a 39m height above ground level. Use the data given in the lecture
notes. Analyze the structure, tabulate the important results, and comment on the
results of the analysis.
Assignment # 2 (Continued…)
(b) Assume twelve stories RCC framed office building with live loads of 2.5 kN/m2
shown below (Fig. A) is located in seismic zone IV. Calculate the seismic forces on
the structure using seismic coefficient method. Assume roof and floor slabs
thicknesses of 150mm, beams section 250mm by 400mm (bxh), columns section
500mm by 500mm and story height is 3.25m. As recommended by the codes
assume 25% live loads are acting during earthquake. Analyze a central frame and
tabulate the important results. Comments on the results of the analysis.
Use the following data and factors:
α0 = basic horizontal seismic coefficient = 0.05
Building is without bracing or shear wall therefore, T = 0.1N
β = a coefficient depending upon the soil-foundation system = 1.0 (Type II Medium
soil)
I = a coefficient depending upon the importance of the structure = 1.0.
C = a coefficient defining the flexibility of structure depending upon fundamental
time period T, for its value use the C versus Period given in the lecture notes.
Serviceability Criteria:
(a) With respect to wind design, the following aspects have to be considered to
ensure the satisfactory performance of a high-rise building structure under
service conditions:
Lateral deflection (drift) of the structure, particularly as this effects the stability of
the structure and the cracking of nonstructural elements and structural
members. Drift is the magnitude of displacements at the top of a building
relative to its base. Maximum allowable drift = H/500, where H is total height of
the building.
(b) Motion of the structure, as this affects comfort of the occupants.

Appropriate Shapes for Lateral Load Resisting High-rise Buildings:

Unsymmetrical buildings usually develop torsion due to lateral loads such as
wind and seismic forces. Hence, buildings should have a simple plan and need
to be symmetric both with respect to mass and rigidity. Therefore, the center of
mass and center of rigidity of the building either coincide with each other or
should be very close to each other to minimize the torsion. Irregular shape of
high-rise buildings may be designed as a combination of few regular shapes
with suitable movement joints.
In tall buildings, the length to width ratio in the plan of a building should not
exceed three. The figure below illustrates simple rules for layout plans for high-
rise buildings.
 Do Don’t

Fig. 3 Guidelines for planning of lateral load resisting high-rise buildings

Residential High-rise Buildings Systems:
Residential buildings (apartment buildings, hotels, and dormitories) are
characterized by the presence of partitions that are designed during the
planning stage, are constructed with the progress of structure as shown in the
following figures. The presence of permanent partitions allows the columns’
layout to correspond to the architectural plan. The lateral resistance of
residential buildings is provided mostly by the frames in the buildings.
In residential buildings above 20 stories, a shear wall-frame interactive system
for resisting lateral loads is more appropriate. The major advantages of using
shear wall structures lie in the speed of construction, low reinforcing steel
content and acoustical privacy.
Office Buildings and their Structural Systems:
Office buildings are characterized by the absence of partitions during design
and construction, since office space is designed rather than offices, with
subsequent partitioning to accommodate the needs of a particular tenant as
shown in the next figure. With the increasing height of buildings in recent
years, new concepts evolved to economically provide resistance to lateral
forces due to wind and earthquake. This evaluation is shown in Fig. 4.
Residential building typical floor plan

Office building typical floor plan

As can be seen in Fig. 4, in buildings up to 20 stories, frame action is sufficient
to provide lateral resistance.

In buildings higher than 20 stories, the rigidity of frame is mostly insufficient,

and sway due to wind may begin to control the design. Introduction to shear
walls which interact with frames will enhance the total rigidity of the building.

Fig. 4 Structural System for Office Buildings with Different Heights

 ACI Committee 442 Recommendation
Table (a) from Ref.(ACI Committee 422) is presented to guide the Choice of
suitable structural system for a particular building. The range of applicability
shown may vary somewhat depending upon the use of the building, the storey
height and the design live load and wind load

Table (a) Guide to Selection of Structural Systems ACI Committee 442

Number of Stories
Structural System

Office Buildings Apartment Buildings,

Hotels, etc.

Frame Up to 15 Up to 20

Shear Wall (egg crate) Up to 50

Staggered Wall Beam Up to 40

Shear Walls acting with Frames Up to 40 Up to 70

Single Framed-Tube Up to 50 Up to 60

Tube-in-tube and bundled tubes Up to 80 Up to 100

Rigid Frames:

Rigid joints are used between an assembly of linear elements to form

vertical and horizontal planes. The vertical planes consist of columns and
girders mostly on a rectangle grid; and horizontal planes consist of slabs,
beams and girders.

Types of Rigid Frames:

Rigid frames can be used in two forms, plane frame and space frame.

Plane Frames:

Plane frame is a two-dimensional element in a building which represents

the local deflection of the building in two dimensions only. Plane frame
carries the loads applied in its own plane and the loads from its
approximate tributary areas.

Space Frames:

Space frame is a three-dimensional element and carries the exact applied

loads.
The whole structure of a building having a regular plan can be represented
by a single space frame. The structural analysis of a building represented by
space frame will give the actual three-dimensional deflections in different
parts of the building.

Rigid Frames and Core Structure (shear walls):

Shear Core Structure:

In high-rise buildings, a common solution is to gather vertical transportation

and energy distribution system (e.g. elevators, stairs, toilets, mechanical
shafts) to form a core or cores. These cores are utilized as shear wall
systems to provide the necessary lateral stability for the buildings

When the resultant of lateral forces does not act through the centroid of the
building’s structural system, torsion will be developed in the structure.
Optimal torsional resistance is obtained with closed core sections.

A combination of rigid frame with shear core structure (shear walls) will
significantly increase the lateral resistance of the building as a result of the
core and frame interaction.
Framed Tube:
The framed tube consists of a closely spaced grid of exterior columns,
connected with beams without interior columns as shown in Fig. (i). The
efficiency of this system is derived from the great number of rigid joints
acting along the periphery.

Tube in Tube:
The exterior columns and beams are spaced so closely that the facade has
the appearance of a wall with perforated window openings. The entire
building acts as a hollow tube cantilevering out of the ground. The interior
core (tube) increases the stiffness of the building by sharing the loads with
the facade tube as shown in Fig. (ii).

Multi-cell Framed Tube:

The multi-cell framed tube can be visualized as an assemblage of individual
tubes resulting in a multiple-cell tube as shown in Fig. (iii). The increase in
stiffness is apparent. The system allows for the greatest height and the most
floor area.
 Fig. (ii) Tube in Tube
Fig. (i) Framed Tube

Fig. (iii) Tube in Tube

Triple Tube
The design of the 60-story office building
in Tokyo (Fig,IV) used triple tube. In this
system the exterior tube alone resists
wind loads, but all three tubes connected
by floor systems (i.e. diaphragms)
interact in resisting earthquake loads, a
significant design factor in Japan.
The Importance and efficiency of the framed tube system:
The framed tube, which was first introduced in the sixties of last century, consists of
closely spaced grid of exterior columns, connected with beams, It is an efficient
system to provide lateral resistance without interior columns. The efficiency of this
system is derived from the great number of rigid joints acting along the periphery,
creating large tube. The framed tube represents a logical evolution of the
conventional framed structure, possessing the necessary lateral stiffness with excellent
torsional qualities while retaining the planning flexibility of interior column free space

To visualize the action of a framed tube, it is simple to start with a solid peripheral
wall (a solid tube) which obviously will act as a cantilever with a moment deflection.
When the wall is penetrated with small round opening (windows), it will still behave
as a cantilever. When the openings become larger and rectangular, instead of round,
part of the lateral forces are resisted by shear distortion of the columns and beams, and
only the rest by the moment (cantilever) deflection of the tube.
The ratio of the moment deflection to shear deflection depends on the stiffness
relationship between beams and columns. A typical distribution of column axial forces
in such a structure is shown in the figure below. With increasing beam stiffness and
increasing number of stories, a higher participation of the windward and leeward
sides may bring the framed tube closer to a rigid tube and high rotational resistance.
In addition, the framed tube has an unusually high torsional resistance owing to the
location of stiffness around the periphery. When the sway or wind stresses being
controlling the design (it may be around 40 stories), the framed tube is supplemented
by a core, to create the tube-in-tube system. The tallest tube-in-tube of this type is
the 714-ft-tall, 52-story Shell Oil Building in Houston, Texas shown in Fig.(1).
When the height reach 70-80 stories, the tube in tube may no longer be a sufficiently
rigid system, & the exterior tube must be made rigid to act in 100% flexure as a
cantilever. Either a set of diagonal members within the peripheral tube creates an
exterior cantilevered truss system or interior connecting shear walls act as webs to tie
the opposite faces of the tube into a single unit.
The use of diagonals in the exterior in a reinforced concrete building was
investigated in a research project of the Illinois Institute of Technology in a 115-story
building (1450ft high).
The thorough study investigated all the architectural, structural, mechanical,
construction that the building is technically feasible at an estimated cost lower than
that of the 100-story John Hankook Building, its steel counterpart.
Fig.(1). The tallest tube-in-tube 714-ft tall,
52-story Shell Oil Building in Houston, Texas

The alternate method of creating a rigid

tube is a multi-cell arrangement as shown
in Fig.(2) through the use of cross shear
walls in one or both directions.
CBF & EBF Frames
Braced frames are cantilevered vertical trusses resisting lateral loads primarily
through the axial stiffness of the frame members. They are most often made from
structural steel because of ease of construction.
Braced frame geometries are grouped based on their ductility characteristics, as
either concentric braced frames (CBF) or eccentric braced frames (EBF).
In CBFs the axes of all members intersect at a point such that the member forces are
axial. CBFs have a great amount of stiffness but low ductility. Therefore, in areas of
low seismic activity, where high ductility is not essential, CBFs are the first choice of
engineers for lateral resistance. The CBF can take the form of an X, Pratt, diagonal,
K or V as shown in the figure below.
EBF Frames:
In EBF or eccentric braced frames on the other hand, utilize axis offsets to
introduce flexure and shear into the frame, which lowers the stiffness-to-weight
ratio but increase ductility as shown in the figure below. Higher ductility through
inelastic shear or bending action of the link beam make it desirable lateral system
in areas of high seismic activity.
Resistance to Lateral Loads

With the increasing use of light curtain walls, dry-wall partitions, and high-strength
concrete and steel reinforcement in tall buildings, the effect of lateral loads
especially wind load have become more significant.
Figure below shows the schematic plot of the lateral resistance (as represented by
the lateral load versus story deflection) in modern building. As a result, the lateral
resistance of the building is only slightly larger than that of frame alone, and no
reserve capacity against lateral load is available.
Lateral Loads Resisting Systems:

(a) Frame Structures:

The term “frame” denotes a structure that derives its resistance to lateral
loading from the rigidity of the connections between columns and beams or
slabs. Frames deform in a predominantly shear mode where relative story
deflections depend on the shear applied at the storey level as shown in
Fig. 5(a).

(b) Shear Wall Structures:

The term shear wall is actually a misnomer as far as high-rise building are
concerned, since a slender shear wall subjected to lateral forces has
predominantly moment deflections (i.e. bending mode) and only very
insignificant shear distortions as shown in Fig. 5(b).

A shear wall will share the lateral load proportional to its stiffness. The
distinguishing factor of a shear wall is its much higher moment of inertia
than a column. The calculation of lateral stiffness of the wall is simple, and
stresses in a shear wall without openings involve simple bending theory
only.
(c) Shear Wall-Frame Buildings:

The term shear wall-frame structure is used to denote any combination of frames and
shear walls. In this system, shear walls supplement frames that, if unaided, frames
often cannot be efficiently designed to satisfy lateral load requirements.

The great majority of modern multistory buildings are in fact shear wall-frame
structures, since elevator shafts, stair-case walls, and central core units of tall
buildings are mostly treated as shear walls. Using only shear walls to respond to
lateral loads is impractical above 150m. To be sufficiently strong, cores have to
become too large and do not correspond to their functions for vertical transportation
and energy distribution. Furthermore, deflection may be large enough to cause
cracking of partitions and windows or even to evoke unpleasant psychological
reactions among the building’s occupants. The lateral rigidity is greatly improved by
using not only the shear wall system but also the rigid frame to resist lateral forces.

The interaction of shear wall and frame is shown in Fig. 5(c)

Fig. 5 Deformation Modes in Different
Lateral Load Resisting Systems
Coupled Shear Wall Structures:

Openings normally occur in vertical rows throughout the height of a wall and the
connection between the wall segments is provided by either connecting beams or
floor slabs, or a combination of both. These types of walls are called “coupled shear
walls” or “pierced shear walls” as shown in Fig. 6 below.
If the openings are very small, their effect on the overall state of stress in the shear
wall will be minor and hence, can be neglected in the design. If the openings are large
enough, this will result in a system in which typical frame action predominates.

Fig. 6 Coupled Shear Wall Structure

Coupled shear walls supported on exterior columns only:
Parking areas under high-rise buildings require larger clear spans in

comparison to the top floors. Therefore, the shear walls must be stopped

and supported on exterior columns, thus leaving the parking area clear

free from columns and walls. The lower portions of such walls act as a

deep beam spanning between the supporting columns as shown in Fig.7(a).

The computer study has shown that the second floor beam

(supporting the shear walls) acts like a tension member for the coupled

shear wall above. The lintels over the doors for the next five stories act as
compression struts as shown in Fig. 7(b)
Fig. 7 Coupled shear walls supported on exterior columns
Comparison of High-rise Structural Systems:

Low-to medium-rise buildings are normally designed for gravity loads, and

then checked for their ability to resist lateral loads. However, high-rise

buildings are much more susceptible to lateral load action. With respect to

gravity loads, the weight of the structure increases almost linearly with the

number of stories. However, the amount of material needed for the

resistance of lateral forces increases at a drastically accelerating rate.

Fig.8 compares most of the general concepts for high-rise buildings in steel

and concrete as suggested by Fazlur Khan. The structural systems given for

certain height should not be considered an absolute rule.

Fig. 8 Comparison of the
Concepts for Concrete and Steel
High-rise Buildings
From the structural point of view, the below-grade function outside the tower
should be for parking with longer spans; but from the ground level up, the first
segment should be for hotel, while the next segment should be for residential
floors. The topmost segment should be used for commercial and office space.
However, from the architectural/business point of view, the office, commercial
and parking floors are placed below apartment floors as shown in the figure
below.
 Vertical Locations of Functions in a Multi - use Tall Building

The Structural Flexibility in Column Spacing in High-rise Buildings :

- Closest column spacing should be at the lower level (base).
- Along the height of the building some intermediate columns can be dropped.
This type of arrangement of columns will avoid the use of complicated
heavy transfer beams. Figure below represents the floor plan of a
multistory building at different levels
Internal and External Movement of Structures:

Internal and external movements in the structure are caused by the expansion
and contraction due to the temperature changes. In order to get rid of forces
caused by the above phenomenon, expansion and contraction joints should
be provided in the structure. Differential settlements in foundations also create
forces in the structure, which should be considered in the design.
For the above reasons, movement joints must be provided in the buildings
(Fig.9). Movement joints may also be required when the structure changes in
size / shape, height, and foundation system. BS Codes recommend a
movement joint of 25mm in reinforced concrete frame structures at
approximately 50m length.
 Fig.9 Plans Showing the Position of Movement Joints in Buildings.

Response of Structure:

Under the action of applied loads, the structure deflects vertically and
horizontally. The stresses and the deflections in the structure should be
within allowable limits.

Fig.10 indicates a measure of the response of the structure to the loadings.

Fig. 10 Life history of structure
 Height-to-Width Ratio of a Building
With the increase of height-to width ratio, the

stiffness of the building should also increase.

Stiffness K is a function of size and number

of bays, structural system, rigidity and

Member connections.

For a plane frame structure the height-to-width

ratio is 5 to 7, or h / w = 5 ~ 7
Where, h is height of the building and w is the

width of the building.