HIGH RISE BUILDINGS

Buildings having more than 12 stories are termed as high rise buildings. The basic principles of
horizontal and vertical structural system design remains same for low rise as well as high-rise buildings.
But when building rises above 25-30 meters the problem of lateral forces become more serious. Lateral
forces develop overturning moments and shear deflection on the high rise structures. The vertical system
in high-rise building has to transmit load from story to story down the foundation requiring large column
supports at base. In addition to these gravity loads the vertical system has to transfer wind loads and
seismic loads to the foundations. The system has to be designed for resistance against overturning
moment and shear deflection with special structural systems. For design purpose all the high-rise
buildings are essentially considered as vertical cantilevers designed as various structural systems.

Structural systems are methods utilized to resist vertical forces (gravity) and lateral (horizontal) loads
(wind and earthquakes) against a building. Foundation systems and framing systems (described here) are
the two major groups of structural systems.

Within these two major groups, several types of basic systems are utilized. The type selected for a
particular building depends upon many factors, including building height, building use (office,
residential, etc.), local soil conditions, availability of materials, local building codes, and local
construction methods. These and other factors are considered in the selection the most appropriate and
economical system.

Framing systems carry and distribute the structural loads that occur above the surface of the earth, and
consist of the columns and beams that support the building. In some building systems, the floor slab is
designed to assist in carrying some of the lateral loads of the building, and thereby become an integral
part of the framing system.

Most steel frame buildings utilize corrugated steel deck that is topped with concrete as the floor system.
Nearly all concrete frame buildings utilize cast in place concrete slabs for the floor system. Some steel
frame buildings (a very few concrete frame buildings) utilize pre-cast concrete planks for the floor
framing system. These planks are usually covered with a thin layer of concrete that is placed on the
jobsite.

The most of the structural systems mainly grouped as:

1) Rigid Frame System
2) Shear Wall System
3) Tubular System
There are number of systems for high rise construction which have been derived out of the single or
combination of these systems. These are as follows
a) Rigid Frame
b) Trussed Frame
c) Shear Wall
d) Shear Wall Plus Frame
e) Core Plus Outrigger
f) Framed Tube
g) Tube-in-Tube
h) Trussed Tube
i) Bundled Tube
j) Super frame
k) Space Truss
Belt-Trussed Frame with Core
Large trusses tie the fassade columns to the core so that the whole building acts as one large system of
interdependent parts. The trusses are called "cap Trusses" when they are at the top of the building, and
"Belt Trusses" when they are at intermediate points.

Bundled Tube
This was the natural extension of the "Tube-in-Tube" system. The stiffness and strength of these very tall
buildings is generated by all of the "tubes" of the building being "bound" together to act as one big
bundle. This is similar to the cellular structure of bamboo or trees.

Core with Cantilevers

Solid Core supports cantilevered floor slabs which are often post-tensioned. This has the advantage of
freeing the facade and clearing the interior floor space of columns. The disadvantage is the additional
thickness required as the cantilever increases.

Rigid Frame with Core

In these hybrid systems, a stiffening core has een added to the standard rigid frame in order to reduce the
lateral sway of the structure.

Rigid Frame
Rigid frame system are very inefficient. Each and every member must help in the transfer of lateral loads
to the foundations through rigid connections. These systems are usually very regular and not of great
height. The strength of the system depends upon the integrity of each of the elements that compose the
whole.
The development of this system liberated structural designers from the bearing wall so that they could
continue their skyward aspirations.

Staggard Truss
Similar to the Skip-Stop Interstitial. Trusses utilized to transfer the lateral loads to the core.

Trussed Frame
This system attempts to combine the efficiency of the truss with the stiffness of the rigid frame. The rigid
frame could be used to transfer the vertical loading and the truss for the lateral loading.

Tube-in-Tube
The development of the Tube-in-Tube concept for tall buildings was an important step. The exterior and
interior columns of the structure are placed so closely together that they not only appear to be solid, but
they act as a solid surface as well. The entire building acts as a huge hollow tube with a smaller tube in
the middle of it. The lateral loads are shared between the inner and outer tubes.

A building's foundation is the structure which supports it in the ground. The forms and materials of
building foundations vary according to ground conditions, structural material, structural type, and other
factors. In most buildings, the foundation (or basement) wall does not have a significant role in carrying
the structural loads from the tower above, but does resist the lateral load of the soil (and any water) that
the basement is constructed in. Foundation systems are constructed of concrete almost without exception.
In some building systems, the floor slab is designed to assist in carrying some of the lateral loads of the
building, and the floor slab thereby become an integral part of the framing system.
Pile Foundations
Caisson Foundations
Mat Foundations
Spread Foundations
Load-bearing Wall Foundations

Pile Foundations
Foundations consisting of vertical structural members that are forced into the ground by impact (from a
machine called a "pile driver"). Some early skyscrapers utilized wood piles, but steel and concrete
became more practical at the beginning of the 20th century. Piles can be driven to bedrock, or more
commonly, "to refusal" (that is, until underlying soil resists the pile being driven significantly further into
the soil).

Caisson Foundations
Caisson foundations are similar in form to pile foundations, but are installed using a different method.
Caissons (also sometimes called "piers") are created by auguring a deep hole into the ground, and then
filling it with concrete. Steel reinforcement is sometimes utilized for a portion of the length of the
caisson. Caissons are drilled either to bedrock (called "rock caissons") or deep into the underlying soil
strata if a geotechnical engineer finds the soil suitable to carry the building load. When caissons rest on
soil, they are generally "belled" at the bottom to spread the load over a wider area. Special drilling bits are
used to remove the soil for these "belled caissons".

Mat Foundations
Mat foundations (also known as "raft foundations") are a foundation system in which essentially the
entire building is placed on a large continuous footing. Mat foundations found some use as early as the
Nineteenth Century, and have continued to be utilized to effectively resolve special soil or design
conditions. In locations where the soil is weak and the bedrock is extremely deep, "floating or
compensated mat foundations" are sometimes utilized. For this type of foundation, the amount of soil
removed and the resulting uplift (on the foundation) caused by groundwater is equalized by the
downward forces of the building and foundation. Yet another variation of the mat foundation is to use it
in combination with caissons or piles.

Spread Foundations
For spread foundation systems, the structural load is literally spread out over a broad area under the
building. Spread foundation systems utilize one or more horizontal mats, or pads, to anchor the building
as a whole or to anchor individual columns or sections separately. Spread foundations are also known as
"footing foundations" and are a type of foundation often utilized in low-rise buildings.

Load-bearing Wall Foundations

Many building foundations, including most buildings that have basement levels, use slurry walls at the
edges to hold out the surrounding earth. In very few cases, this slurry wall or another underground wall
element becomes a major load-bearing part of a highrise building's foundation. This foundation type is
usually found in combination with one of the above types.

Foundation Systems
Foundations are the load transmitting structures responsible for force flow from superstructure to the
ground. The selection of foundation system depends on the type of superstructure i.e. Location ,
Magnitude and kinds of forces transmitted to the ground. It also depends on the subsurface conditions
such as bearing capacity of soil, settlement characteristics of soil and ground water condition.
Ordinary high- rise building foundations consists of either a collection of individual rectangular and strip
footings, or large mat combining all of the single footings. In seismic areas, the individual spread and pile
foundations will have to be linked and tied together by bracing struts, so that entire building foundation
can act as a unit in sharing the load resistance. In crowded urban areas, the deep basements for tall
buildings, particularly adjacent to other heavy buildings, cause excavation problems. In this case, special
foundations, such as sheet piling, slurry walls, bracing of walls, or walls with tie backs, along with
underpinning of adjacent buildings and subways, are required. Pumps may be needed for conditions
where the water table is high, which (in turn) may cause settlement problems with adjoining buildings.
In order to control settlements and tilting, foundations on compressible soils should only be
concentrically loaded, in other words, the column and wall bases should not be fixed to the footings, and
lateral shear forces should not be transferred in bending. On the other hand, footings on highly
compacted soils may be loaded eccentrically. Single footings should only be used on soils of low
compressibility, because the independent displacements of the foundations may cause significant stresses
in the superstructure. Columns may be joined by continuous footings to control vertical differential
movements between them. Mat foundations are most effective in reducing differential movements on
compressible soils.

Mat or Raft Foundation

The mat foundation is basically one large continuous footing upon which the building rests. In this case,
the total gross bearing pressure at the mat-soil interface cannot exceed the allowable bearing strength of
the soil. The system is used when the soil bearing capacity is low, and it may prove to be more
economical when more than about one-half of the plan area of a building is required for single footings; it
also provides a uniform excavation depth. Mat foundation may be useful when individual footings touch,
when a concentration of high soil pressure must be distributed over the entire building area, when small
soft soil areas must be bridged, when compressible strata are located at a shallow depth, so that
settlement will be minimized, when differential settlement of variable soils must be minimized, since
individual footings would create unequal settlement, or when hydrostatic pressure of groundwater and
uplift must be controlled.
 The common mat or raft foundations (see fig.) A layout Flat plate/slab mats
 Ribbed mat (two way slab on beams) with ribs above or below slab
 Cellular
The mat foundation is designed as an inverted floor structure, but settlements must also be taken into
account where the loading or soil pressure distribution depends on the layout of the columns or walls, the
magnitude and type of the loads, and on the stiffness of foundation and soil.

For preliminary design purposes, an average or uniform soil pressure distribution may be assumed, and
the effect of differential settlements may be ignored, because of the rigidity of the mat. In other words,
the contact pressure is distributed in a straight line, where the centroid of the soil pressure coincides with
the line of action of the resultant vertical loads. This condition actually only applies for a rigid mat, such
as a cellular one on cohesive soil, or a uniformly loaded flexible mat on an elastic compressible soil.

Floating or Compensated Mat Foundation

When tall buildings are founded on weak soils of very thick deposits of soft materials, such as
compressible clay, the bearing capacity of the soil is extremely low and controlled by settlement criteria.
To control this movement due to heave, as well as compressive forces and long- term consolidation of the
soil stratum, the fully compensated mat foundation is often used. In this case, so much soil is excavated
that the weight of the soil removed plus any uplift from water pressure is replaced by the combined gross
loading of the substructure and the superstructure. In other words, the pressure at the base of the
excavated soil will not change, the pressure of the displaced soil will be equal to the pressure caused by
the building, thus theoretically resulting in no settlement. The structure seems to float on soil like a ship
in water, as caused by a buoyant force equal to the weight of the soil displaced by the basement volume,
balancing the weight of the floating structure according to the Archimedes principle.

Naturally, this is only a theoretical model, since some settlement of the mat will occur due to the change
of live loads and the water table, non-homogeneity of the ground, and due to recompression of
excavation heave with subsequent settlement, realizing that, as a result of the removal of the soil
overburden, pressure heave of the bottom of the excavation has occurred.
For tall buildings, this floating foundation concept may require several basements, which may not take
just the form of a box or pedestal, but rather a stepped root like extension into the ground. These deep
substructures, in turn, generate extremely large loads, clearly indicating that the building should be a
lightweight structure. Hence, it may be more economical to use a partially compensated mat foundation
rather than a fully compensated one, when some settlement due to the net bearing pressure of building
weight minus the weight of the soil excavated at the mat-soil interface is tolerable.
Because the floating mat is constructed deep into the ground, groundwater may have to be considered,
especially the high water table during rainy season, thus requiring a watertight box-type foundation. In
this instance, the buoyancy effect and the lateral pressure must be considered in the design.

Deep Foundations
Deep foundations are used when adequate soil capacity is not available close to the surface and loads
must be transferred to firm layers substantially below the ground surface. When settlement is a primary
problem, then a pile length must be selected to minimize differential settlement.
The common deep foundation systems for buildings are piles and piers (caisson piles). While the small-
diameter slender piles are normally driven into the ground, the large diameter piers are placed by first
excavating a hole; this distinction, however, may not always be that clear. Other deep foundation systems
occasionally used are slurry walls (i.e., a method of construction for earth retaining walls) and caisson
foundations, which are generally used for the construction of bridge piers and abutments. A caisson is a
massive, cellular hollow box structure that is sunk into position, and also provides the bracing for the
excavation. The three major types are the box caisson or floating caisson (open at top and closed at
bottom), the open caisson (open at top and bottom), and the pneumatic caisson (closed at top, open at
bottom, and filled with compressed air to prevent water from entering the working chamber) as may be
used for constructing an underground garage.
In the following paragraphs, the most common deep foundations for buildings are briefly discussed.

Pile Foundations
Piles are usually driven by hammers. They are made of treated timber, steel, cast-in place concrete,
precast, pre-stressed concrete or composite material; they are manufactured in various shapes of solid or
hollow configuration. The bearing capacity of a pile depends on the strength of the pile and the
supporting strength of the soil. The estimation of the bearing capacity of piles is quite complex; it is
determined by static analysis, dynamic analysis, or pile load tests. In static analysis, which is often used
for preliminary design purposes, the pile-bearing capacity depends on the soil-to-pile connection (i.e.,
soil properties and pile geometry), i.e., the sum of end bearing resistance and the screen friction, as well
as on group effect. For long slender piles, the pile-tip resistance becomes insignificant, so that they act
mainly as friction piles, although in clayey soils the resistance is primarily provided by adhesion. In
dynamic analysis, so-called pile formulas have been developed where the pile capacity is directly related
to the resistance offered to driving with a hammer. The estimation of the pile length is not always easy.
When point bearing-piles are supported directly on rock-like material, the pile length is known for this
condition, the pile is treated as a short column braced by the soil, hence assuming it is not surrounded by
soft mud; its size is dependent on the load bearing capacity of the base material and on the strength of the
pile. Occasionally, it may be the case that the bedrock is stronger than the concrete. For the opposite
condition, where there is no firm soil available at a reasonable depth, friction piles must be used. In this
case, the length of the piles depends on the piles size and the skin friction along the pile, which is
derived, in turn, primarily from the shear strength of the soil or the adhesion on the pile face. Often, piles
pass through a soft soil layer where they are supported by skin friction but then must be extended several
feet into firm soil to act as end-bearing friction piles. The evaluation of skin friction through layered soil
systems, and hence the determination of the pile length, is extremely difficult. Where settlement is a
serious problem, the pile must be long enough to withstand differential settlement. Short piles may be
driven in granular soils to compact the soil close to the ground surface; they are called compaction piles.

Piles are generally used in groups, such as at least three piles to support a major column. A concrete cap
is always necessary to distribute the loads from the super structure to the piles. Pile-cap footings are
designed like spread footings but for concentrated pile loads. Pile clustered may be of any arrangement
below column, wall, or combine footings; usually, the location of the resultant pile load coincides with
the resultant applied load. The pile should be spaced far enough from each other, so that the load-bearing
capacity of each individual pile is not reduced, otherwise group behavior must be taken into account,
which not only results in less soil resistance, but also larger settlements.
Where pile group are subject to lateral forces, and the lateral resistance of the vertical piles in bending (as
partially supported cantilevers) is exceeded, then inclined or batter piles must be employed. When in
addition, an overturning moment is applied, then some of the piles may have to act in tension to resist
uplift.
Pier Foundations
Piers or drilled piers are large-diameter piles with slenderness of less than 10, placed vertically. They are
sometime called caissons, but should not be confused with caissons sunk into position. For the
construction of piers or caisson piles, a hole is usually drilled with machines, or circular steel shells are
driven into the ground and the soil inside is excavated. Piers can be of any cross section. They are large
enough so that a single pier can replace a group of piles. Piers can penetrate dense soil, which piles may
not. Piers may be belled or straight shafted, they usually are supported by end bearing, and occasionally
may be supported in addition, by skin friction. They are classified according to material as concrete,
concrete in steel pile and concrete plus steel core piers.
The size of a typical concrete pier is determined from the soil capacity in bearing and sometimes in skin
friction, while the pier itself is designed as a compression member. It is assumed that it does not have to
resist lateral forces, which are usually absorbed by shear resistance at the building base and passive earth
pressure on basement walls. Occasionally, piers must resist uplift forces, as may be the case in core
columns and corner columns of trussed tubes. Here belled piers act in tension, or piers are post-tensioned
and anchored in bedrock.

Choosing a Foundation System

The selection of a foundation system depends on the type of superstructure, that is, the location,
magnitude, and kind of forces to be transmitted to the ground, and also on the subsurface conditions, the
bearing capacity and settlement characteristics of the soil, as well as the groundwater conditions. Usually,
there are several possible economical solutions for a given situation. For example, when forces are
concentrated locally, such as for a lateral-force resisting central core, it may be more economical to use
piles or piers directly under the core rather than a thick mat to redistribute the loads over the footprint of
the building. For complex subsurface conditions, such as non-uniform soils across the building site or
other underground interferences, it may be necessary to adjust the layout of the superstructure.

In this context, only larger, heavy buildings are considered, where load resistance is critical. The
selection of foundations for small buildings is usually based on local practice. These buildings are light
and cause hardly any bearing pressure, so that the design of their foundations depends less on loads and
more often on resistance to movements in the soil.

A building can be founded on soil or, directly or indirectly, on rock. While New York City sits directly
on rock, the tall buildings in Chicago are carried by caisson piles roughly 30 m down to bedrock.
Naturally, the ideal situation exists when the bedrock is located near the surface and seismic action is
nonexistent, so that shallow foundations can be supported directly and settlements are usually not a
problem. However, when this bedrock is at great depth, then it depends on the nature of the overlying soil
and the magnitude of the loads to determine whether the building should be founded directly on soil or
indirectly on rock. When buildings are founded on soil rather than rock, the selection of the foundation
type depends -on the bearing capacity and settlement characteristics, as well as the necessary
compatibility with the superstructure. For a thick, firm stratum, individual shallow foundations may be
satisfactory, or mat foundations (for tall buildings). However, for the other extreme, where there is only a
thick stratum of weak, soft soil present, such as in Houston, tall buildings cannot be founded just on mat
foundations because of excessive settlement problems, unless it is placed in a deep excavation to behave
like a floating mat. Softer soils may have to be stabilized by friction piles, which carry the mat, as is the
case in New Orleans. For the condition where weak soil is overlying firm soil at a reasonable depth, piers
or end-bearing piles may be used, although it may be more economical to use spread footings and stay
closer to the surface, than to go deeper and take advantage of higher bearing values, assuming differential
settlement is tolerable. On the other hand, when firm soil is over a soft stratum, mat foundations may be
required for heavy loads, possibly together with piles, to control settlements, while individual shallow
footings may be satisfactory for light flexible buildings. Hybrid foundations are required, for example,
when the bedrock underlying a site is sharply sloped and has an overlay of loose sand and a wedge of
clay. For this situation, a foundation mat may be used beneath a portion of the building, while the
remainder is founded on caisson piles drilled into the bedrock.

Particular attention must be given to building foundations on sloping ground. For a firm soil and a stable
slope, step footings transverse to the slope or trenched footings parallel to the slope with transverse grade
beams may be used. For sloping soft ground or semistable slopes, slope stability must obviously be
considered. In this case, the building may be supported by piles (poles) anchored into a firm layer and
cantiIevered above the ground.
Advanced structural forms
The bracing systems discussed so far are not efficient for buildings taller than 60 stories. This section
introduces more advanced types of structural forms that are adopted in steel-framed multi-storeyed
buildings taller than 60 storeys.
The framed tube is one of the most significant modern developments in high-rise structural form. The
frames consist of closely spaced columns, 2 - 4 m between centres, joined by deep girders. The idea is to
create a tube that will act like a continuous perforated chimney or stack. The lateral resistance of framed
tube structures is provided by very stiff moment resisting frames that form a tube around the perimeter of
the building. The gravity loading is shared between the tube and interior columns. This structural form
offers an efficient, easily constructed structure appropriate for buildings having 40 to100 storeys. When
lateral loads act, the perimeter frames aligned in the direction of loads act as the webs of the massive tube
cantilever and those normal to the direction of the loading act as the flanges. Even though framed tube is
a structurally efficient form, flange frames tend to suffer from shear lag. This results in the mid face
flange columns being less stressed than the corner columns and therefore not contributing to their full
potential lateral strength. Aesthetically, the tube looks like the grid-like façade as small windowed and is
repetitious and hence use of prefabrication in steel makes the construction faster. A typical framed tube is
shown in Fig.3.14 (a).

Braced tube or Trussed Tube structures

Further improvements of the tubular system can be made by cross bracing the frame with X-bracing over
many stories, as illustrated in Fig. 3.14(b). This arrangement was first used in Chicago's John Hancock
Building in 1969. As the diagonals of a braced tube are connected to the columns at each intersection,
they virtually eliminate the effects of shear lag in both the flange and web frames. As a result the
structure behaves under lateral loads more like a braced frame reducing bending in the members of the
frames. Hence, the spacing of the columns can be increased and the depth of the girders will be less,
thereby allowing large size windows than in the conventional framed tube structures. In the braced tube
structure, the braces transfer axial load from the more highly stressed columns to the less highly stressed
columns and eliminates differences between load stresses in the columns.

Tube-in-Tube structures
This is a type of framed tube consisting of an outer-framed tube together with an internal elevator and
service core. The inner tube may consist of braced frames. The outer and inner tubes act jointly in
resisting both gravity and lateral loading in steel-framed buildings. However, the outer tube usually plays
a dominant role because of its much greater structural depth. This type of structures is also called as Hull
(Outer tube) and Core (Inner tube) structures. A typical Tube-in-Tube structure is shown in Fig. 3.14c.

Bundled tube
The bundled tube system can be visualised as an assemblage of individual tubes resulting in multiple cell
tube. The increase in stiffness is apparent. The system allows for the greatest height and the most floor
area. This structural form was used in the Sears Tower in Chicago. In this system, introduction of the
internal webs greatly reduces the shear lag in the flanges. Hence, their columns are more evenly stressed
than in the single tube structure and their contribution to the lateral stiffness is greater.
Structural Systems for HRBs in Concrete and Steel

Pos
sible planforms in HRB’s with core shapes accordingly
Rigid Frame Trussed Frame Framed Tube Belt Truss frame With Tube
 Tube in Tube Bundled Tube Space Truss Staggered Truss

High rise buildings or Sky scrapers are the essential elements of modern civilizations. Buildings having
more than 12 stories are termed as high rise The rapid development in technology and demand for more
and more space has prompted man to build higher and higher. Thousands of tall buildings all over the
world. USA has been seen as the leader. Buildings. Number is ever increasing
Number of factors have been responsible.
1) Urbanisation and increase in urban population
2) Shortage of space
3) More accommodation

4) Higher land value and maximum utilization of space.

5) Need for lesser travel distance and time towards & from work place.
6) Clean air
7) More open space
8) Scenic views
9) Status symbol
10) Competition
11) Sense of achievement

Terraced Temple mountains, Pyramids, Cathedrals, Temples, Mosques, Towers, fortresses werethe tall
buildings in ancient times. Generally motivated by political or religious reasons. Were symbols of power
and faith. Seen as achievements.

Four to Five story apartment buildings constructed with mud-brick and timber were common in the
ancient urban centres of Babylon,Athens,Byzantium. Romans had built ten story apartment buildings of
wood.

Traditional methods of high-rise construction is still found today in Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Here for
centuries buildings as tall has 100 ft. have been built out of unbaked sun-dried clay bricks. In Europe
stone, brick, timber and timber framing with masonry infill structure were seen. Arches, Buildings with
Vaults and Post-beam concept were common. By the turn of nineteenth century metal skeletons started
replacing heavy masonry in multistory buildings.

In 1855 Englishman Henry Bessemer introduced the first large-volume process for producing steel.
Elisha Otis developed electrically operated passenger elevator with safety brakes in 1890.

High rise construction started gathering the speed in the Second half of the 19th Century due to the
independent developments in essential components such as
Structure: all metal skeleton
Enclosure : Curtain Wall
Safety: fire proofing
Vert. Transportation: elevators.
Services: Plumbing, HVAC, Artificial Lighting

1889 – 984 ft Eiffel Tower

1891 – 16 Story Monadnock building, 6ft thick walls, Interior skeleton of CI columns and Steel Beam.

1880-1900 first skyscraper period.

1884 – Home Life Insurance Company Building in Chicago Designed by William Le Baron Jenney. No
Bearing walls only Steel skeleton. Round CI columns filled with mortar.

1913 - Woolworth Building, 57 story building designed by Cass Gilbert remained tallest building for 17
years.
1930- Chrysler Building 77 Story
1931 – Empire State Building 102 story.
1972 – WTC 110 stories
1975 Sears Towers