BURJ KHALIFA

CASE STUDY
 BUILDING OVERVIEW

 Former name: Burj Dubai(tallest structure in the world)

 Architect: Adrian smith(Som company, Chicago)
 Location: Dubai, united Arab emirates
 Types: mixed use skyscraper
 Construction started: January 2004
 Construction completed: 2010
 Total height: 828m
 Height till top floor: 584.5m
 Total floor count: 163 floor+ 46 maintenance levels in the spire+ parking level
in basement =209 floors
 Total floor area: 309,473 sq. m
 DESIGN INSPIRATION

 Organic and desert influence

 The architecture features a triple lobed footprint, an
abstraction of a desert flower.
 The y- shaped floor plan maximizes views of the
Arabian gulf.

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 The design not only reduces the wind forces on the building, but also allows each tenants to have an
incredible view of surroundings.

 1.Three wings  Layout

 2. Y shaped
 3.Central core
 SITE PLAN
1.Burj Khalifa arrival court
2. Armani hotel entry 1
7
3. Residential entry
6
7
4. Viewing deck
5. Lakefront promenade 6 3
6.Tower garden
7. Water feature 2
4
8. Children's play area
9. Recreation area 7
10. Service yard 9 5
8
11. Office entry.
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7 6

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6

2
4

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8
Podium Concourse
1. Tower office pavilion
2. Tower office lobby
3. Hotel restaurant
4. Ballroom
5. Parking
6. Indoor pool
7. Loading dock
8. Pre -function
9. Central plant
10.Emergency generator
Podium Concourse
Composite ground FLOOR PLANS
Typical Hotel Floor
Typical residential floor
Typical office floor
 ELEVATOR SYSTEM

 Hold up to 35,000 people at any one time

 Otis elevators has installed 57 elevators, and 8 escalators.

 33 high rise elevators including 2 double decks.

 138 floors served by main service elevator.

Service elevator Amani hotel:

0-8 level Armani hotels;
38-39 level residences;
17-37 level elevator systems

 Speed of elevators: 10 meters per second.

 Approximate time from ground to level

124: 60 second
 The elevators have capacity of 12 to 14 people per
cabin, the fastest rising and descending at up to 10
m/s (33 ft/s) for double deck elevators.

 The double deck elevators are equipped with

entertainment features such as LCD displays to
serve visitors during their travel to the observation
deck.

 The building has 2,909 stairs from the ground to

the 160th floor.
 STRUCTURAL SYSTEM: BUTTRESSED CORE
 Structural system material
 Structural system description
 The consideration loads on the tower

Structural System Material

 Structural material : concrete , steel
 Structural System: Buttressed Core

Mat foundation Concrete structure steel structure from

level 156 to the top
STRUCTURAL SYSTEM
DESCRIPTION
 Buttressed-core
 Each of the wings buttresses the
others via a six-sided central core,
or hexagonal hub.
 This central core provides the
torsional resistance of the
structure.
 Perimeter columns and flat plate
floor construction complete the
system.
 The vertical concrete is utilized to
support both gravity and lateral loads.
THE CONSIDERATION LOADS ON THE TOWER

LATERAL LOAD RESISTING SYSTEM :

 consists of high performance, reinforced concrete ductile core walls linked to the exterior reinforced
concrete columns through a series of reinforced concrete shear wall panels at the mechanical levels.

 The core walls vary in thickness from 1300mm to 500mm. The core walls are typically linked through
a series of 800mm to 1100mm deep reinforced concrete link beams at every level.

 These composite ductile link beams typically consist of steel shear plates, or structural steel built-up
I-shaped beams, with shear studs embedded in the concrete section.

 The link beam width typically matches the adjacent core wall thickness .
 At the top of the center reinforced concrete core wall, a very tall spire tops the building, making it
the tallest tower in the world in all categories.
 The lateral load resisting system of the spire consists of a diagonal structural steel bracing system
from level 156 to the top of the spire at approximately 750 meter above the ground.
THE CONSIDERATION LOADS ON THE TOWER:

Typical Hotel Level Typical Mechanical Level

GRAVITY LOAD MANAGEMENT:
 The limitations on the wall thicknesses (500-600mm) of the center core and the wing walls
thickness (600mm) allowed
 Art of working with concrete, the gravity load to flow freely into the center corridor Spine web
walls (650mm) to the hammer head walls and nose columns for maximum resistance to lateral
loads

WIND LOAD
 Several wind engineering techniques were employed into the design of the tower to control the
dynamic response of the tower under wind loading by disorganizing the vortex shedding formation
(frequency and direction) along the building height and tuning the dynamic characteristics of the
building to improve its dynamic behavior and to prevent lock-in vibration.
SHAPE STRATEGIES TO REDUCE WIND ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT
EXCITATION :
 Varying the building shape along the height while
continuing, without interruption, the building
gravity and lateral load resisting system.

 reducing the floor plan along the height, thus

effectively tapering the building profile.

 Using the building shapes to introduce spoiler type

of effects along the entire height of the tower,
including the pinnacle, to reduce the dynamic wind
excitations.

 Change the orientation of the tower in response to

wind directionality, thus stiffening the structure
normal to the worst wind direction.
BUILDING’S ORIENTATION

Y-shape helps control wind pressure

6 wind directions
Building responds better to major wind
impact on wings
Heavy wind directions in Dubai:
Northwest and South
EARTHQUAKE ANALYSIS :
 Dubai outside the scope of the seismic activity.

 Liquefaction analysis of Burj Khalifa soil showed that it is not a problem.

 Burj Khalifa is located in Dubai, which is a UBC97 Zone 2a seismic region (with a seismic zone factor Z
= 0.15 and soil profile Sc).

 Thus Earthquake loads did not govern the concrete tower design (wind loads govern) but it does
govern the design of the steel spire above the concrete tower.

 How ever, Burj Khalifa resisted earthquake of M5.8 magnitude that occurred in southern Iran on July
20, 2010.

 While the magnitude of this earthquake was diminished when it reached Dubai and was relatively
small (less than 1millig at BK site).
 CLADIING SYSTEM
CLADDING SYSTEM IN GENERAL

 Aluminum and textured stainless steel glazing.

 Close to 26,000 glass panels, each individually hand-cut,

were used in the exterior cladding of Burj Khalifa.

 The cladding system is designed to withstand Dubai's

extreme summer heat, and to further ensure its integrity, a
World War II airplane engine was used for dynamic wind
and water testing.

 The curtain wall of Burj Khalifa is equivalent to 17 football

(soccer) fields or 25 American football fields.
CLADDING SYSTEM IN DETAILS

CURTAIN-WALL DETAIL
1. Aluminium vertical mullion.
2. Clear reflective insulating vision glass.
3. Stainless-steel vertical fin.
4. Horizontal spandrel panel.
5. Concrete slab.
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CLADDING SYSTEM DETAILS
CLADDING SYSTEM

Cladding System at Mechanical Level Cladding System inside View

INTERIOR
•It features glass, stainless steel and polished dark stones, together with silver travertine flooring,
venetian stucco walls, handmade rugs and stone flooring.
 CONSTRUCTION OF THE TOWER FOUNDATION
Reinforced concrete piles ( 1.5m in diameter and 43m long ) .
Concrete mix for the piles had 25% fly ash and 7% silica fume.
The mat is supported by 192 bored , Capacity of each pile is 3000 tons.
192 piles that are 47 meters in length.
1.5 meters in diameter (piles) and placed 3.75 meters apart from center-to-center
 CONSTRUCTION SEQUENCE

 Center hexagonal walls are buttressed by the wing walls and hammer head walls
which behave as the webs and flanges of a beam to resist the wind shears and
moments
 Building stepping is accomplished by aligning columns above with walls below to
provide a smooth load path.
 Telescopic spire is comprised of more than 4,000 tons of structural steel.
STRUCTURE HEALTH MONITORING SYSTEM (SHM)
 Sensors- To measure the resistance load system behavior.
Building acceleration at all levels
Building displacements at level 160M3
Wind profile along the building height at most balcony areas, including wind speed & direction, which
still needs calibration to relate to the basic wind speed. Building dynamic frequencies, including
higher modes
Expected building damping at low amplitude due to both wind and seismic events Time history
records at the base of the tower.
FIRE SAFETY SYSTEM

Pressurized and air-conditioned

refuge areas designed on every 25
floor to ensure better safety.
The capacity of concrete surrounds
of total stairwells can easily bear
5,500 kg.
AIR SUPPLY SYSTEM