CN tower

Group 3
CONTENT
1. GENERAL INFORMATION & LOCATION
2. HISTORY
3. CONCEPT
4. CORE DESIGN
5. CLASSIFICATION IT FALLS INTO
6. LOAD DISTRIBUTION
7. STRUCTURAL DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
8. MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES
9. FOUNDATION INCORPORATED
 The CN Tower in downtown
Toronto is a
prestressed-concrete
communications/observation
tower and an iconic symbol of
Canada. The tower was built by
Canadian National in response
to the need for uninterrupted
communications broadcasting
over the skyline of buildings
constructed during Toronto’s
1960s boom.
 GENERAL LOCATION
INFORMATION The CN Tower is located at 301
• LOCATION : 301 Front Street West Toronto, Front Street West in the heart of the
Ontario Entertainment District, on the north
shore of Lake Ontario, Toronto,
• CONSTRUCTION PERIOD : 1973 – 1976
Canada. The Tower is easily
• COST : $63,000,000 accessible from Union Station and
the streets and major roads.
• ARCHITECTS : John Andrews, Webb Zerafa,
Menkes Housden

• TYPE : Observation , telecommunications,

attraction , Restaurant

• FLOOR COUNT : 147

HISTORY
• IN THE 60s MOST THE LOW HEIGHT BUILDINGS WERE
CHANGED TO SKYSCRAPERS

• THIS CAUSED SERIOUS COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS

• THE CONSTRUCTION OF CN TOWER HELPED SOLVING

THESE PROBLEMS WITH ITS MICROWAVE RECEPTORS AND
ANTENNAS.

• THE PEOPLE OF TORONTO AREA NOW ENJOY ONE OF THE

CLEAREST RECEPTION IN NORTH AMERICA
CONCEPT
● In the beginning was planned with the aim
of placing an antenna high enough to
permit the transmission and reception of
signals without any interference,
especially due to the tall buildings of
Toronto.
● Before completion, the architects added
to it a revolving restaurant and
observation deck
CORE DESIGN
 CORE DESIGN
The cn tower have a central core
which is hexagonal in shape.
Around which the elevators and
service shafts are placed.

CENTRAL HOLLOW
HEXAGONAL SHAFT

ELEVATORS
CORE DESIGN
CLASSIFICATION OF STRUCTURE
EXTERIOR STRUCTURES

Engineers moved the columns and beams from the core

to the perimeter, creating a hollow, rigid tube as strong as
the core design, but weighing much, much less.

TUBE SYSTEM

The tube system concept is based on the idea that a

building can be designed to resist lateral loads by
designing it as a hollow cantilever perpendicular to the External
ground. In the simplest incarnation of the tube, the structure built
perimeter of the exterior consists of closely spaced around main
shaft
columns that are tied together with deep spandrel beams
through moment connections. This assembly of columns
and beams forms a rigid frame that amounts to a dense
Internal hollow shaft
and strong structural wall along the exterior of the Constructed from pre stressed
building. concrete.
 INTERIOR STRUCTURE

A rigid structure can be designed smaller

than other post and beam system. This is
because internal bending moments are
reduced by the rigidity .on the other hand,
the column or vertical members should be
designed to be bit large, since they are
carrying both axial loads and internal
bending moments

Interior main
structure
LOAD AND DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
STRUCTURAL DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
● The high magnitude of the forces to be dealt with implied the use of a large quantity of high
strength steel tendons (a total in excess of 1000 tons was eventually used)
● Because of the record-breaking height of the Tower, it was anticipated that construction would
last through at least one winter. Consequently, the concreting and post-tensioning operations
would have to be planned to withstand very severe weather conditions.
● The verticality and length of the tendons would be a significant departure from previously-known
practice, and would introduce a whole new set of practical considerations, relating to the placing,
securing, stressing, and grouting of the tendons. For instance, an accurate prediction of the
post-tensioning losses was very difficult because of insufficient experience with this type of
application.
● Grouting of vertical ducts would cause substantial hydrostatic pressure inside the ducts, the
consequences of which were hard to predict.
STRUCTURAL DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
● The decision to post-tension the ring beam at the supporting structure for the skypod posed
intricate problems of geometry, relating to restricted space and the requirement to produce a
uniform and symmetrical final stress in the twelve sided polygon.
● Similarly, the decision to post-tension the ring beam at the supporting structure for the skypod
posed intricate problems of geometry, relating to restricted space and the requirement to
produce a uniform and symmetrical final stress in the twelve-sided polygon.
● At an early design stage, it appeared logical to construct the Tower shaft by the slipform
technique. Since this method of construction is fairly sophisticated, it also meant that severe
restrictions would be imposed on such items as time schedules and space requirements relating
to detailing, placing, and stressing the tendons.
● The fact that part of the tendons had to be placed and stressed in the cold season, when the
temperature of the concrete of the Tower walls would be below freezing, made it impossible to
perform the grouting operation until many months later. Hence, the possibility of corrosion had to
be considered.
 LOAD DISTRIBUTION Y AXIS

● The CN Tower, with the exception of some portions designed in

structural steel, is a fully-prestressed concrete structure.
Essentially, all prestressing (or post-tensioning) is arranged
concentrically and designed to disallow tensile stresses.
● Thus, full prestressing has been provided within working load
levels (as defined by estimates of dead and live loads and
X AXIS
statistical 50-year wind loads). For loadings in excess of these
levels, the structure will become partially prestressed and
tensile stresses will occur in certain portions of the concrete.
● All prestressing is essentially uniaxial. Therefore, the above
statements must be qualified since tensile stresses will also
occur at working load, transverse to the main stress direction.
Most of these transverse stresses are, however, quite small.
 LOAD DISTRIBUTION
● For example, the shear stresses due to wind are greatly
reduced because of the tapering shape of the Tower. The
shape approaches the idealized shell structure shown in
Fig. which for a lateral load resultant coinciding with the
apex of the tangential cone, does not produce shear
stresses.
● Equilibrium to the exterior lateral load is then held by the
horizontal components of the wall stresses which are
direct (normal) stresses but have an inclination equal to
that of the wall.
● Other sources of tensile stresses exist, and reinforcing
steel was provided throughout for the effects of local
bending, shrinkage, temperature, torsion, and other
stress conditions.
Auxiliary Stressing of Anchorage Zone

STAGE 1 STAGE 2 STAGE 3 STAGE 4

Loads concentrated Loads concentrated Horizontal loads from Arrangement of
at outside of in central portion of brackets walls. stress bars for
truncated tower. truncated tower. lateral support.
 PHASES OF
CONSTRUCTION
CONSTRUCTING THE BASE , JULY 1973

● The construction of the CN Tower commenced

on February 6, 1973 by the Canada Cement
Company.

● First phase: It began with the excavation

of the tower base which serves as the
foundation of the building. The tower base
has a depth of 15 meters (49.2 feet) in the
center.
BRACKETS BEING RAISED , AUGUST 1974

● Second phase: The main support pillar was

built with workers who were constructing a
hydraulically raised slipform at the base. This
was done until February 22, 1974. By that
time, the structure was the tallest in Canada.
In August 1974, the construction of the CN
Tower’s main level started. Twelve (12) giant
steel and wooden bracket forms were raised.
These were used to support the main level of
the tower.
MAIN POD CONSTRUCTION , APRIL 1975

● Third phase: The construction of the antenna

and the main pod started on March 1975. The
Sikorsky S64E Skycrane helicopter was used
to lift the pieces that made up the tower’s
antenna. It only took three and a half weeks
due to the use of helicopters in lifting the
pieces to construct the antenna, as well as the
main pod.
HELICOPTER LIFTING PART OF THE
ANTENNA , APRIL 1975

● On April 2, 1975, the antenna topped off the

tower. The construction ended on June 26,
1976.
● All in all, the CN Tower was constructed over a
period of 40 months with 1,537 workers
rotating work for 24 hours, five days a week.
● The cost of the construction amounted to 63
million Canadian dollars.
● The CN Tower weighs 117,910 metric tonnes .
BUILDING MATERIALS
 MATERIAL USED

CN Tower is largely made of concrete, which is a

building material made from a mixture of broken
stone, sand, cement and water. Concrete was
poured continuously by a team of 1,532 people until
February 22, 1974.

• CONCRETE : 40.532 CUBIC METERS

• POST TENSIONING STEEL : 129 MILES

• STEEL REINFORCEMENT : 5080 TONS

•STRUCTURAL STEEL : 600 TONS

Glass Floor
The glass floor observation deck are open to 342 meters. The glass
floor has an area of 24 square meters and can withstand a pressure of
4,100 kilopascals.

The thermal glass units are 64 mm floor thickness, consisting of a

panel of 25-mm laminate, 25 mm camera and again a panel of 13-mm
laminated glass.

Lift
Six glass elevators up and down from its exterior to 6 meters per
second, at 1 meter and a half where there are strong winds.

Antenna
The transmitting antenna measures 102 meters and consists of 44
pieces of steel with 8 tons the heaviest.
CONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES
 SLIP FORM

● The next mission was to build the Tower’s 335m

concrete shaft a hexagonal core with three curved
support arms. Concrete was poured into a massive
mold or “slipform".

● A mould in which a concrete structure of uniform

cross section is cast by filling the mould with
liquid concrete and then continuously moving
and refilling it at a sufficiently slow rate for the
emerging part to have partially set.

● As the concrete hardened, the slipform, supported

by a ring of climbing jacks powered by hydraulic
pressure, moved upwards, gradually decreasing in
size to produce the Tower's gracefully tapered
contour.
● In order to maintain consistency, all concrete used
in the Tower had to come from the same source
● Workers mixed every ounce of the
concrete on site, continuously testing
and re-testing it and then reinforcing it
with a unique system of post-tensioning.

● The basic design philosophy for the

Tower shaft was established quite early in
the study period. It was decided that the
Tower shaft would be fully prestressed
(post-tensioned).

● Hence, no tensile stresses under

expected extreme loads were to occur in
the concrete.
 POST- TENSIONING OF THE TOWER

● The post-tensioning of the Tower :shaft

consists of 144 tendons which in turn are
composed of 16 to 31 %-in. diameter strands of
seven wires each.
● The cable units are uniformly spread over
much of the Tower walls, with the exception of
the side faces of the wing sections.
● All the Tower walls extend upwards with
approximately constant thickness from the
base to their top termination.
 Ring Beam (Upper Accommodation)

● The main lateral containment of the upper

accommodation structure is formed by a
post-tensioned concrete ring beam at the top
of the bracket walls.
● The ring beam forms a twelve-sided polygon,
reflecting the radial loads it will withstand.
● The main function of the ring beam is to resist
direct tension with only minor bending due to
the weight of the floor it supports.
● Consequently, the post-tensioning was
arranged in a concentric and symmetrical
manner.
INSTALLATIONS

Installation of tendon duct sheath from

"moving deck."

Series of capped sheaths at base of Tower shaft.

Installation of grout vents. They were done in

pairs at regular intervals.
FOUNDATION INCORPORATED
 Foundation Structure
● The foundation structure is shown in Fig. 3 It
follows shaft.
● The hollow core slab has a thickness of 5.50
m.
● The prestressing Operations for these cäbles,
up to 450 m long in this protected area without
interference of the work slip form.
● The outer walls of the three tower legs are
inclined as show in Fig. 4. Resisting forces can
be built up by
● (1) th the Y-shape of the tower The live anchors
of the hese caverns.
● The pre could hence be executed on the
platform of the th respect to the vertical the
forces in these walls tensile forces in the foune
reinforcement of the slab,
● (2) friction forces between slab and rock and
(3) resistance of the rock wall around the
perimeter.
● It was decided to take up these permanently
acting spreading forces by post tension Fig. 5.
● Frictional forces (2) could not be relied upon
because of the above mentioned clay seams
and high pore water pressures in response to
dynamic wind forces.
● Resisting forces (3) along the perimeter would
only be activated after substantial horizontal
movements. Hence, in order to prevent vertical
cracking of the foundation slab and the tower
walls above as well as of the rock layers below
prestressing was chosen.
● Bands of prestressing cäbles in the arrangement of Fig. 5
were placed running below and above the slab caverns.
● Control joints 1-1 separated the three legs completely. A
sequence for the post tensioning By activating the active
anchors at both cable ends and the flat jacks in the control
joints in an appropriate sequence this condition could be
met.
● A subsequent analysis of the jack forces showed that the
rock base provided practically no frictional resistance as
anticipated.
● Tapering edges (see cross section Fig. 3) around the
foundation slab were selected on the basis of a stress
analysis on the interaction between slab and rock. In such
a way a considerable reduction of the local shear stresses
along the edges was achieved and the possibility of
vertical cracking of the shale greatly reduced.
Reference
● Prestressing the cn tower by - Francz Knoll, M. John Prosser, John
Otter
● https://concretecivil.com/classification-of-high-rise-building/
● https://en.wikiarquitectura.com/building/cn-tower/
● https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/CN_Tower