Structural efficiency of tapered tall buildings has been well recognized, and many tall\nbuildings of tapered forms have been built throughout the world. Tall buildings are built with\nan enormous amount of building materials. As one of the most efficient structural forms for tall\nbuildings, the contribution of tapered forms to saving structural materials coming from our limited\nnatural resources could be significant. Structural design of tall buildings is generally governed by\nlateral stiffness rather than strength. This paper systematically studies the structural efficiency of\ntapered tall buildings in terms of lateral stiffness. Tall buildings of various heights and angles of taper\nare designed with different structural systems prevalently used for todayâ??s tall buildings, such as\ndiagrids, braced tubes, and core-outrigger systems. The heights of the studied buildings range from\n60 to 100 stories, and the corresponding height-to-width aspect ratios in their non-tapered prismatic\nforms range from 6.5 to 10.8. The angles of taper studied are 1, 2, and 3 degrees. Gross floor area\nof each building of the same story height is maintained to be the same regardless of the different\nangles of taper. Based on design studies, comparative evaluation of the various structural systems for\ntapered tall buildings is presented.
Loading....