Structural Coupling of High-Rise Buildings Linked by Skybridges
Abstract
An example of the creative building concepts is the connection two or more buildings using skybridges, which are also referred to as skyways or skywalks. They can provide direct passage in congested areas, serve to make walking more pleasant for pedestrian passage and protect walkers from the elements like the scorching heat or heavy rain. Further in large cities, a skywalk or skybridge can serve to separate the vehicle traffic from pedestrian traffic.
In this research study, the effect of introducing single skybridge or multiple skybridges on the dynamic response behavior of the linked high-rise buildings is studied. A mathematical matrix formulation using 3-D space frames was implemented for time domain simulations in Matlab and was validated using the finite element software SAP2000. This included a comparison of translational and rotational mode shapes and undamped natural frequency estimates, and time series response predictions. The building systems were excited using very four different strong ground motion time series records. A grouping of nine specific cases was developed to investigate the response of building system that connected two buildings of different height. It was found that multiple skybridge designs influenced the higher modal characteristics and structural response, suggesting some response optimization was possible. In addition, statistical characterization of the excitation and response behavior illustrated that non-Gaussian excitation was filtered by the building system to yielding a reduced non-Gaussian response.
Citation
Jumaah, Atheer Khudhur (2017). Structural Coupling of High-Rise Buildings Linked by Skybridges. Master's thesis, Texas A & M University. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /166047.