Tall buildings have been constructed in many cities over the world to accommodate the demographic and economic growth in urban areas. These structures, however, have been widely discussed concerning their potential negative impacts on urban life. By drawing on concepts of urban morphology and the city image, this thesis aims to examine the impact of tall buildings on predominantly low-rise built urban environments and cities. Through a quantitative case study approach applying geographic information systems this thesis attempts to identify (1) the shadow impacts significantly taller buildings have on surrounding areas, (2) the visual impact and the potential for a proposed tall building to act as a new landmark, and (3) the impact tall buildings have on the skyline of a city dominated by low-rise buildings and a historic city centre. The thesis analysed two proposed buildings in Västerås, Sweden and found that the shadow impact of the analysed structures is concentrated on the winter months. The visibility of the buildings concentrates on open spaces and certain visible corridors but is not widely spread over the city. Therefore, the possibilities of the new structures becoming a new landmark of the city are questionable. Furthermore, the proposed planned structures would be visible in the skyline but would not obstruct the views to the other landmarks of the city. The thesis and its results contribute to the discourse around tall buildings and the research on the city image by showing the importance of the analysis of the potential impact of tall buildings in urban planning processes.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil Engineering, 1982. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ENGINEERING. / Includes bibliographical references. / by Robert Erik Grip. / M.S.

This research was conducted to discover how the U.S. building construction and forest products sectors could benefit from the development of tall, cross-laminated (CLT) and mass timber buildings. Barriers that may restrict such development were also investigated. The primary benefits were discovered to be eco-performance and job creation. Code restrictions and material performance misconceptions were found to be the largest obstacles. Case studies of Treet, Tamedia, and the WIDC were conducted to demonstrate the benefits of tall wood buildings and the various paths around potential barriers. Opportunities for tall wood buildings in the U.S. are also discussed. This research discovered that a tall wood movement is gathering momentum in the U.S. To fully realize this potential, accurate information regarding the use of wood and the performance capacities of mass timber systems needs to be disseminated. Co-operation between academia and industry will also be necessary.

<p>  </p> <p>In this study, we aimed to explore the potential of integrating wind turbines into tall buildings to harness wind energy in urban areas. Advanced computer simulations will be used to analyze the complex wind patterns and turbulence around tall buildings. We will also study the optimization of wind turbine placement to maximize energy production. We focus on two types of wind turbines, the savonius and a modified savonius, using the Myring formula. We evaluated their performance in turbulent urban areas using computational fluid dynamics simulations. The simulations will also help us understand the wind flow behavior around tall buildings, informing wind turbine placement optimization.</p> <p>Our findings contribute to the understanding of urban wind energy production. This may lead to further advancements in wind turbine design and application in urban environments, promoting sustainable and clean energy production in densely populated areas.</p> <p>We also evaluate the economic feasibility of wind power as an energy source and its potential for commercial applications. Our study's insights are significant for wind energy research, urban planning, and sustainable energy production in cities.</p> <p>To achieve our objectives, we will use state-of-the-art computational tools such as the ANSYS Fluent Student software and the Steady Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes (SRANS) K-ε model and K-ω SST models for simulating wind flow around tall buildings.</p> <p>In summary, the goal of this research is to develop a methodology for integrating wind turbines into tall urban buildings to harness wind energy potential. This will contribute to the understanding of urban wind energy production and its economic feasibility for commercial applications.</p>

In Sweden as well as other countries the trend of building higher is more and more popular. The global stability of tall buildings is a very important aspect that has to be taken into account while designing. Foundation on piles, that is common in Sweden, reduces the global stability compared to foundation directly on bedrock. Using inclined piles in the foundation is inevitable for high-rise buildings, because they are essential for transferring the horizontal loads into the bedrock. The aim of this paper is to look into the influence that foundation on piles has on global stability and investigate two simple methods to asses global stability. In this thesis the influence of the stiffness of the substructure (foundation), length and inclination of the piles on the global stability were investigated. It was also looked into how does the pile center affect the rotation and thus global stability. One method that was presented was based on the equivalent stiffness. Displacement at the top of the wall is used in order to calculate the bending stiffness that is reduced due to foundation on piles and further calculate buckling load on the basis of Euler buckling. In the other method that was proposed rotation at the foundation level was taken into account so as to calculate rotational spring stiffness and later buckling load due to combined flexural and rotational buckling. The analysis was conducted on a simple two dimensional problem, namely stabilizing wall as well as a building stabilized by two towers. Three different configurations of piles were investigated for single wall as well as for the structure. The investigation showed that the position of pile center has its effect on the global stability. The closer the pile center is to the foundation on piles the better the global stability of a  structure. The length of the piles plays a role in stability as well. The longer the piles are the worse the stability is. With longer piles the overall stiffness of a structure decreases and thus the global stability. The analysis showed that the foundation of piles significantly lowers the stability of high rise building. The investigated methods showed that the one based on rotation at the base gave better results compared to the method based on the equivalent bending stiffness. But to use this first method, the position of the pile center is required to be known in order to get correct results which in a complex structure is hard to estimate. In an analysis of a building stabilized by two towers it was seen that when the inclined piles that are inclined opposite to each other in a pile group and are positioned far from rotation center of a structure it increases the global safety and rotational stiffness as well. It is recommended to use such configuration of piles that the pile center is at the foundation level in order to increase global stability. / I Sverige och andra länder är trenden att bygga högre alltmer populärt. Den globala stabiliteten hos höga byggnader är en viktig aspekt som måste beaktas vid byggnadens utformning. Den vanligaste grundläggningsmetoden i Sverige är grundläggning med pålar. Denna typ av grundläggning minskar den globala stabiliteten jämfört med grundläggning direkt på berggrunden. Att använda sneda pålar i grundläggningen är oundviklig för höghus, eftersom de är nödvändiga för att överföra horisontella laster till berggrunden. Syftet med detta examensarbete är att se hur grundläggning på pålar påverkar den globala stabiliteten och undersöka två enkla metoder för global stabilitet. I detta examensarbete undersöktes hur styvheten påverkar grundläggning med pålar med olika längder och lutningar, med hänseende på den globala stabiliteten. Pålcentrumets påverkan av rotation och den globala stabiliteten har även studerats. En metod som presenterades i examensarbetet är baserades på ekvivalent styvhet. Där utböjning på toppen av väggen togs för att beräkna böjstyvheten som reduceras på grund av grundläggning med pålar och ytterligare beräknades knäcklasten baserat på Eulers knäckning. I den andra metoden som föreslogs togs rotationen vid grundläggningsnivån med i beräkningen för att beräkna rotationsfjäderns styvhet och senare knäckningslasten på grund av kombinerad böjnings- och rotationsknäckning. Analysen genomfördes på en enkel tvådimensionell vägg och en tredimensionell byggnad som är stabiliserad av två torn. Tre olika konfigurationer av pålar undersöktes för enkel vägg och även för byggnaden Utredningen av examensarbetet visade att positionen av pålcentrum har en stor påverkan på den globala stabiliteten. Ju närmare pålcentrumet är till grundläggningsnivån desto bättre är den globala stabiliteten hos en konstruktion. Längden på pålarna har även en betydelse när det gäller stabiliteten. Ju längre pålarna är desto värre blir stabiliteten. Med längre pålar minskar den totala styvheten hos hela konstruktionen och därmed minskar även den globala stabiliteten. Utredningen visade även att metoden med rotation vid grundläggningsnivån gav mer noggrannare resultat än metoden för ekvivalent styvhet. Men för att kunna använda den förstnämnda metoden behöver man ha kännedom om vart pålcentrum ligger för konstruktionen och detta kan vara svårt att uppskatta. I en analys av en byggnad stabiliserad av två torn visades det att när pålarna är placerade långt från rotationscentrum av en konstruktion ökar den globala säkerheten och rotationsstyvheten. Det rekommenderas att använda sådan konfiguration av pålar att pålcentrum ligger på grundnivå för att öka den globala stabiliteten.

In mid- to high-rise structures, dual systems (DS) enable a structural designer to satisfy the stringent drift limitations of current codes without compromising ductility. Currently, ASCE 7-05 permits a variety of structural systems to be used in combination as a dual system yet the design requirements are limited to the following statement: Moment frames must be capable of resisting 25% of the seismic forces while the moment frames and braced frames or shear walls must be capable of resisting the entire seismic forces in proportion to their relative rigidities. This thesis assesses the significance of the 25% design requirement for the secondary moment frames (SMF) in dual systems with consideration of current structural engineering practice. Three 20-story buckling-restrained braced frame (BRBF) dual system structures were designed with varying relative strengths between the braced and special moment frame systems. The SMF system wa designed for 15%, 25%, and 40% of seismic demands and the BRBF system design has been adjusted accordingly based on its relative stiffness with respect to the moment frame. These structures were examined with nonlinear static and nonlinear dynamic procedures with guidance from ASCE 41-06. The drift, displacement and ductility demands, and the base shear distribution results of this study show similar responses of the three prototype structures. These results indicate a secondary moment frame designed to less than 25% of seismic demands may be adequate for consideration as a dual system regardless of the 25% rule.

This thesis is about determining the risks of positioning swimming pools on top of high-rise buildings.Pursuing this determination, computational simulations of constructed structural models in a finiteelement model software called RFEM have been analyzed. In further pursuit of wanted results comingfrom the computational software, the models have acquired relevant theory regarding both swimmingpools and high-rise buildings respectively to obtain realistic approximations of equivalent results if themodels were real life structures. Thence analytical observations and measures of each structural modelcontaining different positions of the swimming pools are generated, in several degrees, differentpossibilities of risks of failure are possible. Results have been compared out of design of swimmingpools and high-rise buildings in an initial stage of background and thereafter set as input values for themodeling where following perspectives have been analyzed:• Structural deformations,• Internal forces,• Utilization ratios, and• Mode shapes.Further analysis of social-, economic-, and environmental sustainability have been deliberated. Thus,in conclusion of this thesis, swimming pools positioned on top of the structure core or at center of theplan section tend to harm the stability of the structure likewise if the positioning of the swimming poolare cantilevered completely over the edge of the rooftop. More suitable design would either bepositioning the swimming pool attached to the core of the structure meanwhile cantilevered over theedge or integrated entirely along the edge.The results showed that some of the overhanging swimming pools pass the requirements of theEurocode. This will result in the columns experiencing a utilization which exceed its capacity. Thecolumn utilization was shown to behave differently depending on where the swimming pool was placedon the top floor. Furthermore, it was also a difference between the structures studied as dimensions ofthe members required either more or less depending on the form the structure had. The reaction of theswimming pool could be observed to behave as a stiff part of the structures with the deformation mostlybeing located at the slabs. The internal forces developed in the members due to the swimming poolaffected the columns at the bottom floors the most. The thesis finally shows how much is needed forthe worst case of each structure to pass the requirements. This resulted in different dimensions for themembers where the smaller structure (structure model 1) needed bigger dimensions and the largerstructure (structure model 2) needed smaller dimensions compared to the originally based dimensions.The social, economic, and environmental impact of the structures showed that the larger structureswould release more carbon dioxide than the smaller structures. The social aspect was treated moreregarding the safety and the experience of the user of the facility of swimming pool. The reinforcementvaried the most between the structures with the concrete being mostly the same for the two differentstructures made, in which an impact was made for both the economic and the environmental. Here itwas shown that in order to pass the requirements of the Eurocodes the impact on the climate needed tobe considerable different.

no / The recently published report on Rethinking Construction in the UK has highlighted the need to reduce on-site activities as part of its drive for greater efficiency, improved quality and greater certainty in the delivery of construction projects. For multi-storey buildings, the use of precast slabs in the floors - particularly if this can be done without the need for in-situ screeds - drastically reduces the volume of on-site concreting required. Although the use of precast hollow core slabs in steel framed buildings are common, their use in composite design with steel beams is relatively new. By designing the steel beams and precast hollow core slabs compositely, a reduction in beam size and overall floor depth can be achieved, which would lead to an overall reduction in construction cost. This paper summarises the recent developments and on-going research on composite construction with precast hollow core slabs.

published_or_final_version / Real Estate and Construction / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Neste trabalho são discutidos os aspectos inerentes à análise não-linear física (NLF) e geométrica (NLG) das estruturas de contraventamento em concreto armado. O estudo proposto tem como base a análise estrutural de pórticos planos de concreto armado, desenvolvendo-se uma ferramenta rigorosa capaz de analisar essas estruturas de forma elaborada e consistente. Com essa ferramenta serão avaliadas as reduções de inércia que ocorrem em pórticos planos de concreto armado, submetidos a diferentes condições de carregamento e a diferentes taxas de armadura, contribuindo para o estabelecimento de estimativas confiáveis dos efeitos da NLF nessas estruturas. Estes resultados, combinados com os parâmetros de estabilidade &#945 e &#947z - capazes de estimar com bastante precisão os efeitos devidos à NLG - permitem o estabelecimento de métodos simplificados para a análise não-linear física e geométrica das estruturas de contraventamento de edifícios em concreto armado, de grande utilidade para os projetistas. / In this work the inherent aspects to the physical nonlinear analysis (PNL) and geometric nonlinear analysis (GNL) of reinforced concrete bracing structures are argued. The considered study is based in the structural analysis of in reinforced concrete plane frames, developing a rigorous tool capable to analyze these structures of elaborated and consistent form. Using this tool, inertia reductions that occurs in reinforced concrete plane frames, submitted the different loading conditions and the different levels of reinforcement will be evaluated, contributing for the establishment of trustworthy estimates to the effects of PNL in these structures. These results, matched with the stability parameters &#945 e &#947z - capable to estimate with sufficient accuracy the effects of GNL - allow the establishment of simplified methods for physical and geometrical non-linear analysis of reinforced concrete buildings bracing structures, of great utility for the designers.