FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY,

MINNA.
SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENTAL
TECHNOLOGY.

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE

ARC 413 (CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY

IV)

BURJ KHALIFA FLOORS CONSTRUCTION

METHOD
CATEGORIZATION OF BUILDINGS BASED
ON NUMBER OF FLOORS

GANIY OLAOLU ABDURRAHMAN

2011/1/39980VA

SUBMITTED TO: DR. O.F ADEDAYO

 DECEMBER, 2016.

FOUNDATION AND SUPPORT SYSTEMS

To support the height of the building, the engineers developed a new structural system called the
buttressed core, which consists of a hexagonal core reinforced by three buttresses that form the Y'
shape. The towers superstructure is supported by a large reinforced concrete mat 3.7m thick, which is in
turn supported by 192 bored reinforced concrete piles 1.5meters thick and 43 meters deep. This
structural system enables the building to support itself laterally and keeps it from twisting.

Each wing, with its own high-performance concrete core and perimeter columns, buttresses the others
via a six-sided central core, or hexagonal hub. The result is a tower that is extremely stiff torsionally.

With a floor count of 163 above ground out of which 154 are habitable, the Burj Khalifas 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.
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 or composite link beams at every level. Due to
the limitation on the link beam depth, ductile composite link beams are provided in certain areas of the
core wall system. 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.

As the structure climbs, setbacks are introduced and are organized in conjunction with the towers grid
by aligning columns above with walls below to provide a smooth load path which allows construction to
proceed without the normal delays associated with column transfers. At each setback the building's
width reduces to give an idea of stepping back from its foundation footprint. The advantage of this
stepping and shaping is, in essence, to confuse the wind.

FLOOR SYSTEMS
The method was Jump Forming which is the fastest method used to build high rise buildings using an
hydraulic jump form system climbs up automatically 4metres. Moulds were built at the base, re-
enforcement bars were inserted then concrete was poured in. At the point of concrete setting, the moulds
were raised to the next level and on and on till the desired height was reached. Using this process, 1
floor was built per week and reduces the need for cranes considerably and work well in high altitude
winds.
The formwork is independently supported, so the shear walls and core walls can be completed ahead of
the rest of the main building structure.

UPPER FLOOR CONSTRUCTION

A special concrete mix was pumped to a height of more than 600 meters to construct the reinforced
concrete core walls. This allowed for a shorter construction time and gives the building a longer useful
life, making it more sustainable.
The Spire upwards makes use of steel and no concrete except for the central core, which extends straight
into the foundation.

CATEGORIZATION OF BUILDINGS BASED

ON NUMBER OF FLOORS
Skyscrapers are buildings that reach a 200m height or 120 stories.
Mega-tall buildings reach 600m or 200 floors and more.
High-rise building is a building that reaches 100m height and is above 60 stories.
Mid-rise buildings are buildings that contain 10-20 stories.
Low-rise buildings are between 4-12 stories.