Slenderness Ratio Influence on the Structural Behavior of Residential Concrete Tall Buildings

Abstract

The main concern of this paper is to study the influence of the building slenderness ratio on the structural behavior of the residential concrete tall buildings aiming to deepen structure and architect designers understanding for such type of buildings. The study is emphasized only on Kuwait city design conditions for wind and seismic loadings. The paper presents an actual case study for adding two thirty stories residential towers with two different slenderness ratios to an existing residential complex. Wind loading is considered using both code values and wind tunnel results. Three dimensional finite element techniques through ETABS software are used in conducting analysis for structures presented here. A serviceability study is performed to ensure that buildings have sufficient stability to limit lateral drift and peak acceleration within the acceptable range of occupancy comfort. In addition, an ultimate strength study is carried out to verify that all the structural elements are designed to withstand factored gravity and lateral loads in a safe manner according to the international building codes. Analysis results are presented and discussed. A brief idea about foundation design of the new towers and its connection to the existing foundation is presented. Finally conclusions are summarized as guidelines for the structural professions of concrete residential tall buildings.