Story Of Building Research Articles

Utilizing tuned mass damper for reduction of seismic pounding between two adjacent buildings with different dynamic characteristics

Today, population growth and the need for constructing adjacent buildings have raised the likelihood of pounding between adjacent buildings with different dynamic characteristics. The pounding force applied to adjacent buildings during an earthquake is intensive and may cause total or partial damage to structural elements, leading to collapse. It disturbs and complicates the functioning of buildings during and after an earthquake. Therefore, the main aim of this paper is to minimize and, if possible, eliminate the pounding force between two adjacent structures by considering three objective functions. For this aim, the tuned mass damper is utilized here. Also, this paper aims to reduce the number of collisions between different stories of adjacent buildings through a tuned mass damper system. For this purpose, two adjacent steel moment frames with six and ten stories are nonlinearly modeled and validated using the concentrated plasticity model in OpenSees. Moreover, the pounding element is nonlinearly modeled and validated. Then, tuned mass dampers (TMDs) are used on the roofs of the structures. They are optimized in stiffness, mass, and damping coefficient using the grey wolf optimization (GWO) algorithm. Nonlinear time history analysis (NLTHA) is performed under nine far- and near-field earthquakes. The pounding force and structural responses are analyzed, including maximum story acceleration, maximum inter-story drift, and base shear in the TMD-controlled and uncontrolled adjacent buildings. Finally, the Park-Ang damage index is evaluated for the structures with and without the TMD system. It has been found that the maximum pounding force, the maximum acceleration of the stories, the base shear, the drift ratio, and the number of collisions significantly reduce (or omit) in the presence of TMDs when the objective function is considered to be the minimization of the maximum pounding force. It is shown that the maximum pounding force generally declines to zero for this objective function.

Evaluation of Link Overstrength Factor for the Seismic Design of Eccentrically Braced Frames

In eccentrically braced frames (EBFs), inelastic behavior is only permitted in the links. All members, except for the links, are designed according to the capacity design concept by using the link overstrength factor, Ω, so that they remain elastic even when the links develop their ultimate strength (including the strain-hardening effect). AISC 341 specifies that the Ω factor of link members must be 1.25 for beam and brace design and 1.1 for column design. In this study, the relevance of the current Ω factor was investigated. A total of 471 K-braced EBF systems with various conditions were designed using a multi-objective optimization technique, and nonlinear dynamic analyses were performed to evaluate the Ω factor. The results indicate that it is reasonable to use the current Ω factor for the design of beam outside link and brace; however, it leads to an overestimation of axial force in columns, especially in the lower stories of tall buildings. From the analysis results, a new Ω factor equation for column design was proposed. It was demonstrated that the structural quantities of 15-story frames designed using the proposed equation decreased by an average of 19% compared to those designed using the current Ω factor.

Evaluation of a Kirigami-inspired double-skin adaptive façade for natural ventilation and solar harvesting to enhance indoor environment and energy performance

A novel kirigami-inspired design concept for an environmentally responsive adaptive façade is presented and evaluated for the objectives of solar energy harvesting and adaptive ventilation through controllable surface orientation and opening. The concept is a double-skin façade where the outer skin includes a straight cut kirigami-inspired adaptive component. Controllable actuation of the kirigami-inspired section opens the outer skin for ventilation while also changing the orientation of the outer surface for solar tracking. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the potential benefits for this concept integrated within a building façade for solar energy harvesting, air changes, and indoor temperature control. As such, a computational study is used to estimate the proposed facade concept's performance within various generalized building-environment scenarios. The methodology is detailed to computationally estimate the potential environmental performance of this concept with respect to solar harvesting with adhered solar panels, as well as air changes and HVAC cost for associated interior spaces. The example scenarios include various building components, from a single room to multiple building stories, and two geographic locations with significantly different environmental conditions, and both daily and yearly performance estimates are shown. The component is most effective when the outdoor temperature is near to the desired indoor temperature and wind speeds are mild, but can still reduce HVAC usage for more disparate temperatures. For example, in the scenarios shown the component can eliminate HVAC use for a 5°C difference between outdoor and indoor temperature and reduces HVAC usage for temperature differences up to 15°C. Moreover, the component has the potential to significantly increase net energy generation, with yearly performance estimated for the scenarios to be as much as 25% greater than that of a flat closed façade. However, the component cut parameters can have a significant impact on environmental performance, and thus require careful design consideration.

Automatic multi-storey building partitioning from point cloud via bidirectional cloth simulation

With the advancements in scanning technology, the rapid acquisition of point cloud spanning multiple storeys of buildings has become feasible. Accurately dividing the building into individual storeys deepens the understanding of the building environment, accelerates the processing of the vast point cloud, and is crucial for numerous fields such as model reconstruction, indoor navigation, and building management. However, it remains a challenge to handle the building with rooms across multiple storeys. This study presents a novel method to partition complex multi-storey building from cluttered point cloud. First, the non-vertical structural elements are detected by taking the difference of height and normal vector as growth conditions. Next, we iteratively employ bidirectional cloth with height variation constraints to simulate the floor and ceiling trend surface. In this step, candidate ceiling patches are obtained through the optimization of a cost function. Finally, the irregular boundary between adjacent storeys that used for partitioning the point cloud is rasterized in terms of the ceilings at lower storey and the floors at upper storey. Each point is orderly classified into the correspond storey with reference to the elevation of the estimated boundary. Through comprehensive evaluation and analysis, our method has demonstrated its effectiveness and adaptability across various datasets. Our method yields superior results compared to the advanced methods, achieving an approximate value of 99 % on the weighted recall, weighted precision and weighted F1-score. Besides, the proposed method is not limited to Manhattan world buildings and requires only the spatial coordinate of points.

Steel truss reinforced concrete composite walls: Numerical investigation and design consideration

Conventional design practices for reinforced concrete (RC) structural walls in the lower stories of super high-rise buildings involve employing large thickness and dense reinforcement to ensure satisfactory seismic performance. This is necessary to withstand the considerable gravity and seismic forces caused by the superstructure. However, this approach brings a design challenge in engineering practice because excessively thick RC walls not only occupy useable space but also magnify earthquake forces due to the increased self-weight. For this reason, steel truss RC (STRC) composite walls have been developed to address the above-mentioned shortcomings of conventional designs. This paper elucidates the working mechanism of STRC walls under cyclic loading, indicating that these two diagonal embedded steel elements mainly exhibit truss behavior. The working mechanism is further verified through computational models developed in OpenSees with high accuracy and efficiency. Moreover, the design provisions in the current specification are evaluated in terms of the flexural strength and shear strength of STRC walls. Results show that the flexural strength of the design equations for STRC walls in the current specification is underestimated because the contribution of steel trusses is not considered. The findings of this study offer valuable insights into the engineering application of STRC walls.

Modeling the vertical transmission of bioaerosols in residential building drainage systems

The vertical transmission of bioaerosols in building drainage systems is an understudied route of disease spread. This research examines how the position of drainage floors, flush volume, pipe type, and building story number affect the dynamics and reach of bioaerosols in such systems. Our findings show that drainage points positioned lower in a building amplify the number of the affected floors above, with recorded pressure differences at various drainage points ranging from 900 to 3200 Pa, depending on flush volume and floor position. The transition to a double pipe system significantly reduced pressure differences (to as low as 330 Pa in vent pipes), thereby diluting bioaerosol concentrations but increasing their dispersion across more floors. Building story number further influenced bioaerosol spread, with higher buildings exhibiting negligible pressure differences across stories (1400–2300 Pa) but a pronounced increase in affected floors above the drainage site.

First-storey height effects on the collapse performance of buildings in extreme events

Higher first-storey height could cause soft-storey irregularity due to less lateral stiffness, in which the hysteric energy dissipation is localized at the first storey of buildings. In the seismic design codes, two different approaches, based on the drift and lateral stiffness ratios, are used to determine soft-storey irregularity. In this study, four reinforced concrete models with different first-storey to typical-storey height ratios are used to show the first-storey height effects. It is shown that even if the models are regular for soft stories based on the seismic design code limits, the higher first storey considerably decreases the ductility capacity. Also, it is demonstrated that the ductility capacity is highly correlated with the storey height ratio. Although all models meet the design criteria of the Turkish Buildings and Earthquake Code (TBEC-2018), the results of the nonlinear time historey analysis reveal that the first-storey drift ratio considerably increases with the higher first-storey height. Further, the collapse performance of the four models is determined using the FEMA P695 procedure, and the results demonstrate that the collapse probability of the model with the highest first-storey height is over the ASCE 7-22 limit.

Comfort, convenience and long-term effectiveness. Neighborhood in Ottawa, Canada

The article raises the issue of finding ways to restore and rebuild housing in Ukraine that was destroyed during Russia's full-scale invasion. The experience of housing construction in the second half of the twentieth century in Ukraine indicates significant miscalculations that were made. One of them is the use of monotonous, overly typified urban planning and functional planning techniques that did not take into account the temporal dynamics of the socio-demographic characteristics of the urban community, its stratification by age, family relations, life rhythms, interests, opportunities, etc. At about the same time, other housing was being built in North American cities, which has not lost its relevance to this day, and the organizational and architectural approaches used have proven to be appropriate and effective in long-term use. A detailed analysis of one of the residential districts in Ottawa, Canada, was carried out. Its urban planning, functional planning, and three-dimensional spatial solutions are considered. It was found that the key to the viability and efficiency of this urban formation was, firstly, the existence of a close relationship between the regulatory, socio-economic, territorial and urban planning and other components of the project; secondly, the interest of the construction company in the long-term economic stability of this residential area. The result of this approach was the ability to adapt to new rules and regulations, lifestyles, property status, and ideas about the comfortable stay of people who use this housing. It has been found that a variety of urban planning, architectural and spatial, typological and planning techniques, a change in the number of storeys of buildings, a developed intra-quarter and adjacent infrastructure, landscaping and greening of the territory are prerequisites for creating a quality living environment. The heterogeneity of the urban community brings the need to revise the established urban planning and typological techniques adopted in the Soviet era to the design of housing. It requires a wider application of non-traditional approaches, the involvement of positive foreign experience in the formation of conceptual solutions for residential development, which will allow to more fully meet the needs of residents, in accordance with their capabilities, tastes and preferences in the reconstruction of Ukrainian cities.

Исследования математических моделей процессов деформаций зданий и сооружений

Purpose. The article is aimed at analyzing changes in the dynamic characteristics of a building and establishing the dependence of shear deformation accelerations on the building's storey to predict the effect of seismic vibrations on the technical condition of the building, taking into account the engineering and geological properties of the foundation. Methodology. A number of instrumental observations using geodetic devices, automated monitoring systems and engineering seismic stations were made to study the issues of assessing changes in the dynamic characteristics of high-rise buildings and structures. To create mathematical models of deformation processes of buildings and structures, the study of interaction of structural elements of the building with the engineering-geological structure of the ground in the upper and lower parts of the megapolis was proposed. Findings. The results on ground shaking intensity acceleration, effective duration, spectral coefficients and periods of spectrum maximum are obtained. The results of measurements of vibrations on different floors of a high-rise building based on instrumental records of seismic station of local and distant earthquake have been obtained. Dependences of accelerations of shear deformations on the floor of the building with regard to engineering-geological properties of the base have been established. Predictive models of deformation processes of the building taking into account dynamic characteristics of ground vibrations and energy class of earth crust movements have been proposed. Originality. The analytical technique of correlation analysis of random variables is proposed, by means of which normally distributed linear and nonlinear processes are studied to create a mathematical model of deformation processes of buildings of different storeys. Practical value. The obtained results of the study of deformation processes of buildings and their structural elements allow to predict the dynamic model of the process of displacements of points of the structure taking into account the dynamic characteristics of ground vibrations and energy class movements of the Earth's crust

Investigating the seismic response of chevron braced frame equipped with a replaceable sandwiched fused damper

This paper proposes a new replaceable metallic damper called a Sandwiched Fuse Damper (SFD) to enhance the seismic performance of chevron braced frame. The proposed damper decreases the damage level and increases the deformation capacity of braced frames. To investigate the cyclic behavior of the proposed damping system, experimental tests were carried out on two 1/2-scaled chevron-braced frames equipped with the SFD and a conventional chevron-braced frame for comparison. Test specimens were one-bay single-story chevron braced frames execrated from the bottom story of a prototype three-story building. The experimental results showed that the SFD-braced frames possessed stable hysteresis loops, a large deformation and excellent energy dissipation capacities. The results also indicated that the ductile flexural-yielding of fuses governed the failure of SFD-braced frames. Besides, it was found that the ductility, energy dissipation, and deformation capacity of SFD-braced frames were 2, 4.73, and 4.59 times larger than that of the conventional chevron-braced frame.

The architecture exhibition as a stage of mediated narratives

ABSTRACT This paper discusses the role and agency of the architecture exhibition as a mediated space of discursive spatial narratives. The presented curatorial approach draws on the exhibition entitled Past-forward: Stavros Economou Unarchived (2021) to reflect on the development of a multimedia-enabled reading of the architectural archive. Stavros Economou is one of the most important representatives of modern architecture in Cyprus, yet his work is underdiscussed and under-published. The architectural archive, unlike other collections, consists of representations (such as drawings, models, photographs) of artefacts (buildings) that communicate design processes and final un/built proposals. The curatorial practice focused on a twofold challenge: on one hand, it explored the role architectural representation can play in the production of the multiple and complex (hi)stories of modern buildings, and secondly, it considered ways in which an architecture exhibition can connect with the host city and its local population by addressing contemporary urgencies of spatial inquiry.

The Catholic Church and investor capitalism in late-nineteenth century Ireland

ABSTRACT The Catholic Church embarked upon an ambitious project of property development in the nineteenth century that transformed the Irish built environment and landscape. People responded energetically to fundraising drives for churches, convents, monasteries and welfare-focused institutions. The acquisition of significant property and substantial capital by the Irish Catholic Church was a major source of its power, which continued into independent Ireland. Much of this wealth came to the Catholic Church through bequests, donations, and returns on investment, which were managed by the relevant dioceses and orders. This article focuses on the episcopacy of Archbishop William Walsh of Dublin during the 1880s and 1890s to understand the way in which the management of the archdiocese of Dublin’s financial resources shaped the social, economic, and political development of Ireland’s capital city. By focusing on the management of one of the most significant bequests under Walsh’s supervision – the Egan Bequest – a complex story of religion, investment and infrastructure building is revealed. This activity helped produce a model of investor capitalism that shaped Dublin in ways that remain contested to this day.

Ductility-related seismic modification factor for CLT shear-wall and glulam moment-resisting frame dual system

The cross-laminated timber (CLT) shear-wall and glulam moment-resisting frame (CLTW–GMRF) dual system is a recently completed research prepared for the British Columbia (BC) Forestry Innovation Investment Ltd. With the introduction of new structural systems, the need to update existing building code becomes evident. Accordingly, this study evaluates the ductility-related force modification factor ( Rd) of the CLTW–GMRF system for the National Building Code of Canada, utilizing the FEMA P-695 procedure. In two performance groups, 16 archetype buildings are designed considering different building storey heights, CLT shear-wall locations, and wall-frame moment proportions. Numerical model of the systems is developed in OpenSees and incremental dynamic analyses are conducted using 30 bi-directional ground motion records that represent the seismicity of Vancouver, BC, Canada. Collapse margin ratios are calculated to assess the adequacy of the trial Rd factors. The research determined that with an over-strength factor of 1.5, an Rd of 3 is found to be acceptable for the system.

Site-Specific Aseismic Design of Multi-Storeyed Buildings Using Optimum Tuned Mass Damper Inerter

ABSTRACT The effectiveness of the tuned mass damper inerter (TMDI) in reducing the vibration of building structures under site-specific earthquake excitation is investigated. The site is Guwahati, Assam, which lies in the most severe seismic intensity zone in India. In this paper, the optimization of the TMDI design parameters is carried out for the site-specific input derived for the building site by a modulated Clough-Penzien (C-P) spectrum fitted to the power spectral density function obtained from a strong motion model of the site. All possible topologies of the TMDI, with one terminal of the inerter being connected to the damper mass attached to the top storey of the example buildings, and the other terminal being connected to any other floor, are investigated. The structure-TMDI system is analyzed both in the frequency-domain and in the time-domain. A numerical study is conducted with two example building structures. Optimization of design parameters of the TMDI is carried out using the technique of simulated annealing in the frequency-domain using the site-specific modulated Clough-Penzien spectrum as input. The performance of the optimal TMDI cases is evaluated by subjecting the example structures to 10 site-specific synthetically generated accelerograms. Results indicate that the TMDI is superior to the TMD for all topologies of the TMDI in case of the 3-storieed structure; and for topologies of the TMDI in which the inerter spans more than 4 floors for the 8-storied structure, with improved reductions in top-floor displacement, acceleration, and stroke length.

The scholarly journal as puzzle: On time, collaboration and closure

As the Journal of Urban Cultural Studies (JUCS) closes its tenth year of publication, this second instalment of a two-part editorial turns towards questions regarding the nature of scholarly journals. Building from Part 1’s exploration of comics artist Chris Ware’s tactile puzzle Building Stories: Vortex of Anamnesis, the central metaphor of journal as an intellectual puzzle is considered. Specific aspects of time and collaboration are addressed as fundamental concerns for the puzzle of journal editing. After considering, in passing, challenges to editing in the twenty-first century, final comments address the notion of closure, drawn from comics theory.

Impacts of energy saving measures on IEQ, task performance and COVID-19 contagion risk in public buildings: analysis of a case-study in Bozen-Bolzano, Italy

The recent 2022 energy crisis has pushed several Italian public administrations to adopt solutions to reduce energy demand for space heating in public buildings. Reduction of HVAC system operation time, decrease of heating setpoint and changes to ventilation schedules are some examples of typically implemented measures. However, some of them are in direct competition with those adopted so far to limit the risk of COVID-19 contagion, such as higher ventilation rates. Furthermore, limited operation time and lower setpoints can lead to suboptimal thermal comfort conditions for workers in public buildings, with subsequent decrease of their task performances. In this framework, to assess the global efficacy of the most recent energy saving policies in public buildings, this research focuses not only on the quantification of energy savings but also on the analysis of increased COVID-19 contagion risk, as well as performance loss due to suboptimal building operation conditions. To investigate the impact of new building operation policies for energy savings, an intermediate storey of a public office building in Bolzano, Italy, was selected as a case-study.

Fall From Height Cases of Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and The Curfew of the COVID-19 Period Possible Effects on it

Background/Purpose: To investigate whether the curfew of the COVID-19 pandemic influences the fall from height cases in children’s age group.
 Methods: This study was conducted in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) of XXX Training and Research Hospital between 01 January 2017 and 01 January 2022. This study enrolled 39 males (35.1%) and 72 females (64.9%) aged 4.4 ±4.1 years. 
 Results: The findings indicate that when the school precautions existed, the number of fall cases who were admitted to PICU decreased 10-fold. Additionally, when the general precautions were performed, the number of fall cases who were admitted to PICU decreased 31,8%. On the other hand, the logistic regression model, which was established to predict the independent factors of higher fall cases among all of the fall cases admitted to PICU, was found to be significant. Falling from the 'storey of building', which is one of the variables included in the analysis, contributed significantly to the model and was in a 54.4-fold significant relationship with High Falls (above 4.57 meters). While pneumocephalus injury was associated with High Falls 9.2 times, pneumothorax was associated 15.9 times.
 Conclusion: Our results have three implications. First, it was presented that above 4,57 meter falls cause more severe injuries than lower falls. Second, injury patterns, social parameters, epidemiological differences, required prevention equipment, and education of caregivers of fall cases were revealed. Third, the influences of the curfew on the COVID-19 pandemic were discussed.

Analysis Of RC Precast Modular Building with Frame Element Approach

Concrete buildings with modular systems are still not widely used for high-rise buildings. One of the main reasons is the lack of knowledge regarding the structural design of concrete modular buildings. In Indonesia itself, there are not even many concrete modular buildings because the majority of the area is surrounded by earthquake zones. This study aims to develop a frame analysis method using a section designer for structural analysis of concrete modular buildings. The function of using frame elements is to simplify the calculations that should be modelled with shell elements in order to ensure that the connection between segments occurred only vertically. The analysis was carried out for an 8-storey apartment modular building composed of 4 module segments (M-24A, M-24B, M-36A and M-36B). Seismic analysis was carried out using the parameters of the city of Kutai with Sds = 0.27 and Sd1 = 0.3. All module segments are capable of enduring the maximum moment caused by seismic loading. The M-36B segment has a maximum moment capacity of 62,318.73 kNm and can withstand an ultimate moment of 2,227.55 kNm. The combined effect of the earthquake due to the response spectrum created maximum building story drift of 0.11% does not exceed the required limit of 2%.

Propagation of structure-borne noise in building adjacent to subway lines

Today, the need for development of metro lines in crowded urban environments is inevitable. Construction and operation of metro generally have adverse side effects (such as noise and vibration) on residents of buildings adjacent to the metros. Based on various published reports, train-induced Structural Borne Noise is mostly annoying, causing people discomfort. Addressing this issue, probabilistic assessment of train-induced annoyance level in buildings adjacent to subway lines was made in this study. For this purpose, a numerical model of typical buildings in vicinity of a subway line was developed. The model was validated by field tests performed in this study. Nine different sites along metro lines were selected to obtain vibration characteristics of train-induced accelerations received by the metro adjacent building foundations. Various possible vibration time histories were applied to the foundation of the model, using an Incremental Vibration Analysis. At each step of the analysis, the Sound Pressure Level in the building stories were obtained and compared with the limitations proposed by the Federal Railroad Administration. Using the results obtained, the probability of the Sound Pressure Level exceeding the allowable limits was derived. In this regard, a reliability index was obtained. Based on the reliability index, the propagation level of the impermissible Structure-Borne Noise in different stories of buildings was presented as a function of number of the building stories and the peak ground accelerations. Accuracy of the proposed function was illustrated by applying it to eight different sites, indicating the accuracy of more than 83%.

Methodology for Determining Heat Losses through Translucent Construction

The purpose of this work is to determine the heat transfer coefficient of translucent fences, considering the number of storeys of buildings, climatic factors, such as wind velocity and outdoor temperature. To achieve this goal, the following tasks were solved: analysis of heat transfer in translucent enclosures as a quasi-stationary process; analysis of heat transfer processes in translucent barriers, which are a combination of solid transparent plates and air gaps connected by a frame structure; determination of the heat transfer coefficient on the glass surface depending on climatic factors and the radiant component. The most important result is the empirical dependence of the heat transfer coefficient on the outer surface of the window block on the Reynolds criterion, the dependences for determining the heat transfer coefficient of window blocks are improved, considering climatic parameters. The heat transfer coefficient of the window block as a whole is presented in the form of analytical ratios, considering the location of the building and its height, changes in wind velocity and outdoor temperature. This methodology was tested on the example of a civil administrative building, for which the heat transfer coefficients of window structures of non-standard series were evaluated. The significance of the research results lies in the possibility of using the obtained dependencies to assess the thermal characteristics of window structures of non-standard shapes. The dependences of the heat transfer coefficient on wind speed and outside air temperature given in the paper can be used in the energy audit of buildings.