OXFORD ENGINEERING COLLEGE

TRICHY-620009

PAPER ON

“SKYSCRAPERS”

Authors name:
K. Kiran kumar (kavurikirankumar@gmail.com)
D. Joshuaa (joshuaisraeli@gmail.com)

Contact no; (8144871252, 8144681424)

ABSTRACT:

A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building. There is no official definition

or height above which a building may clearly be classified as a skyscraper. Most cities define
the term empirically; even a building of 80 meters (262 feet) may be considered a skyscraper
if it protrudes above its built environment and changes the overall skyline.

Modern skyscrapers are built with materials such as steel, glass, reinforced
concrete and granite, and routinely utilize mechanical equipment such as water
pumps and elevators. Until the 19th century, buildings of over six stories were rare, as having
great numbers of stairs to climb was impractical for inhabitants.

This paper presents amazing facts and definitions about skyscraper and its nature. It
also explains about clear history of Skyscraper and construction with some special
characteristics like Wind Resistance, Earthquake resistance, Fighting Gravity, Importance of
verticality, effectiveness of using dampers in skyscrapers to absorb the vibrations caused by
massive shocks on the earth surface and their substructure, superstructure.

Keywords: Skyscrapers, height, dampers.

INTRODUCTION:

"What is a skyscraper? It is anything that makes you stop, stand, crane your neck
back, and look up”.

Throughout the history of architecture, Some observers apply the word "skyscraper" to
buildings of at least 20 stories. Others reserve the term for structures of at least 50
stories. But it is widely accepted that a skyscraper fits buildings with 100 or more
stories. People build skyscrapers primarily because they are convenient -- you can
create a lot of real estate out of a relatively small ground area. But ego and grandeur do
sometimes play a significant role in the scope of the construction, just as it did in earlier
civilizations. In the late 1800s, a number of advancements and circumstances
converged, and engineers were able to break the upper limit -- and then some. The
social circumstances that led to skyscrapers were the growing metropolitan, Business
and Trade Centers, Businesses all wanted their offices near the center of town, but there
wasn't enough space. In these cities, architects needed a way to expand the metropolis
upward, rather than outward.

The main technological advancement that made skyscrapers possible was the development of
mass iron and steel production. New manufacturing processes made it possible to
produce long beams of solid iron.

Steps to building a Skyscraper:

• A clear piece of land with stable ground and a good location is found.
• A hole is dug to bedrock level to support the building; this could be up to 200-plus
feet deep.
• The footings (which are like big pads that spread out the weight) are placed at the
bottom of the hole. The footings must be placed on stable ground, which is often bedrock.
• Concrete is poured over the footings.
• The vertical support beams are constructed and placed using large cranes. These are
used to support the vertical load.
• The horizontal steel girders are then placed between the vertical beams. These are
used to bind the building together.
 • The outside walls, which act like curtains, are then placed and the building is finished
off

Tallest Vs. Highest

We would like to set the record straight about the following grammatical error that often
comes up when talking about skyscrapers. There is a fine difference between the highest and
the tallest building. Let us explain:

By definition:

• Highest - "Having a relatively great elevation"

• Tallest - "Having a specified height: a plant three feet tall.''

This is meaning height is in elevation terms and tallest is meaning the distance from the top
to the bottom of the structure itself.

Here's an example:

B is higher than A, but A is taller than B

So if someone says the Taipei 101 is the highest building in the world, they are incorrect.
There are many other buildings with higher elevations.
History

The earliest skyscrapers, built in the late 1800s, were very basic boxes with simple stone and
glass curtain walls. To the architects who built these skyscrapers, the extreme height was
impressive enough. In the period around 1900, the aesthetic began to change. Buildings got
taller, and architects added more extravagant gothic elements, hiding the boxy steel structure
underneath.

The art deco movement of the 1920s, '30s and '40s extended this approach, creating buildings
that stood as true works of art. Some of the most famous skyscrapers, including the Empire
State Building and the Chrysler Building (above), came out of this era. Things shifted again
in the 1950s, when international style began to take hold. Like the earliest skyscrapers,
tsshese buildings had little or no ornamentation. They were made mostly with glass, steel and
concrete. Since the 1960s, many architects have taken the skyscraper to new and unexpected
places. One of the most interesting variations has been the combination of several vertical
skeleton sections -- or tubes -- into one building. The Sears Tower in Chicago, the most
famous example of this approach, consists of nine aligned tubes that reach to different
heights. This gives the building an interesting staggered appearance.

Traditionally, the walls of a building supported the structure; the taller the structure, the
thicker the walls had to be. A 16-story building constructed in Chicago in 1891 had walls 6 ft
(1.8 m) thick at the base. The need for very thick walls was eliminated with the invention of
steel-frame construction, in which a rigid steel skeleton supports the building's weight, and
the outer walls are merely hung from the frame almost like curtains. The first building to use
this design was the 10-story Home Insurance Company Building, which was constructed in
Chicago in 1885.

The "invention" of the skyscraper lies with George A. Fuller (1851-1900). George
Fuller worked on solving the problems of the "load bearing capacities" of tall buildings.
George Fuller built the Tacoma Building in 1889, the first structure ever built where the
outside walls did not carrying the weight of the building. Using Bessemer steel beams, Fuller
created steel cages that supported all the weight in tall buildings or skyscrapers. The Flatiron
Building was one of New York City's first skyscrapers (Broadway and 23rd), built in 1902 by
Fuller's building company. Daniel H. Burnham was the chief architect.

Raw Materials

• Reinforced concrete is one important component of skyscrapers.

It consists of concrete (a mixture of water, cement powder, and aggregate consisting of gravel
or sand) poured around a grid work of steel rods (called rebar) that will strengthen the dried
concrete against bending motion caused by the wind. Concrete is inherently strong under
compressive forces.

• The other primary raw material for skyscraper construction is Steel,

This is an alloy of iron and carbon. Nearby buildings often limit the amount of space
available for construction activity and supply storage, so steel beams of specified sizes and
shapes are delivered to the site just as they are needed for placement.

(To maximize the best qualities of concrete and steel, they are often used together in
skyscraper construction. For example, a support column may be formed by pouring concrete
around a steel beam.)

• A variety of materials are used to cover the skyscraper's frame.

The sheets that form the exterior walls may consist of

 Glass,
 Metals, such as Aluminum or Stainless steel,
 Or Masonry materials, such as Granite, Marble, or Limestone.

The process of covering is known as “Cladding”.

Design

Design engineers translate the architect's vision of the building into a detailed plan that will
be structurally sound and possible to construct
Each skyscraper design is unique. For a skyscraper, the sideways force of wind affects the
structure more than the weight of the building and its contents. The designer must ensure that
the building will not be toppled by a strong wind, and also that it will not sway enough to
cause the occupants physical or emotional discomfort

Because each design is innovative, models of proposed super tall buildings are tested in wind
tunnels to determine the effect of high wind on them, and also the effect on surrounding
buildings of wind patterns caused by the new building. If tests show the building will sway
excessively in strong winds,

In addition to the superstructure, designers must also plan appropriate mechanical systems
such as elevators that move people quickly and comfortably, air circulation systems, and
plumbing. BURJ KHALIFA(DUBAI)

The Construction Process

Each skyscraper is a unique structure designed to conform to physical constraints imposed by

factors like geology and climate, meet the needs of the tenants, and satisfy the aesthetic
objectives of the owner and the architect. The construction process for each building is also
unique. The following steps give a general idea of the most common construction techniques.
The substructure

• Construction usually begins with digging a pit that will hold the foundation. The
depth of the pit depends on how far down the bedrock lies and how many basement
levels the building will have.
• When a section of trench reaches the desired depth, a cage of reinforcing steel is
lowered into it. Concrete is then pumped into the trench, displacing the lighter slurry.
The slurry is recovered and used again in other sections of the trench.
• In some cases, bedrock lies close to the surface. The soil on top of the bedrock is
removed, and enough of the bedrock surface is removed to form a smooth, level
platform on which to construct the building's foundation. Footings (holes into which
the building's support columns can be anchored) are blasted or drilled in the bedrock.
Steel or reinforced concrete columns are placed in the footings.
• If the bedrock lies very deep, piles (vertical beams) are sunk through the soil until
they are embedded in the bedrock.

 One technique involves driving steel piles into place by repeatedly dropping a
heavy weight on their tops.
 Another technique involves drilling shafts through the soil and into the
bedrock, inserting steel reinforcing rods, and then filling the shafts with
concrete.

• A foundation platform of reinforced concrete is poured on top of the support columns

SUBSTRUCTURE REPRESENTATION
The superstructure and core

Once construction of a skyscraper is underway, work on several phases of the structure

proceeds simultaneously

For example,

 By the time the support columns are several stories high, workers begin building
floors for the lower stories. As the columns reach higher, the flooring crews move to
higher stories, as well, and finishing crews begin working on the lowest levels.
Overlapping these phases not only makes the most efficient use of time, but it also
ensures that the structure remains stable during construction.

• If steel columns and cross-bracing are used in the building, each beam is lifted into
place by a crane. Initially, the crane sits on the ground; later it may be positioned on
the highest existing level of the steel skeleton itself. Skilled workers either bolt or
weld the end of the beam into place (rivets have not been used since the 1950s). The
beam is then wrapped with an insulating jacket to keep it from overheating and being
weakened in the event of a fire. As an alternative heat-protection measure in some
buildings, the steel beams consist of hollow tubes; when the superstructure is
completed, the tubes are filled with water, which is circulated continuously
throughout the lifetime of the building.
• Concrete is often used for constructing a building's core, and it may also be used to
construct support columns. A technique called "slip forming" is commonly used.
Wooden forms of the desired shape are attached to a steel frame, which is connected
to a climbing jack that grips a vertical rod. Workers prepare a section of reinforcing
steel that is taller than the wooden forms. Then they begin pouring concrete into the
forms. As the concrete is poured, the climbing jack slowly and continuously raises the
formwork. The composition of the concrete mixture and the rate of climbing are
coordinated so that the concrete at the lower range of the form has set before the form
rises above it. As the process continues, workers extend the reinforcing steel grid that
extends above the formwork and add extensions to the vertical rod that the climbing
jack grips. In this way, the entire concrete column is built as a continuous vertical
element without joints.
• In a steel-skeleton building, floors are constructed on the layers of horizontal bracing.
In other building designs, floors are supported by horizontal steel beams attached to
the building's core and/or support columns. Steel decking (panels of thin, corrugated
steel) is laid on the beams and welded in place. A layer of concrete, about 2-4 in (5-10
cm) thick, is poured on the decking to complete the floor.
EARTHQUAKE RESISTANCE DESIGN OF SKYSCRAPERS

Skyscrapers need special construction to make them earthquake-resistant. They must

be anchored deeply and securely into the ground. They need a reinforced framework
with stronger joints than an ordinary skyscraper has. Such a framework makes the
skyscraper strong enough and yet flexible enough to withstand an earthquake

Base Separators are used to prevent the building from earthquake damage.

CROSS BRACINGS ARE PROVDED TAIPEI 101

Fighting Gravity

• The main obstacle in building upward is the downward pull of gravity.

In normal buildings made of bricks and mortar, you have to keep thickening the
lower walls as you build new upper floors. After you reach a certain height, this is
highly impractical. If there's almost no room on the lower floors, what's the point in
making a tall building?

• The main technological advancement that made skyscrapers possible was the
development of mass iron and steel production (see How Iron and Steel
Work for details). New manufacturing processes made it possible to produce
long beams of solid iron. Essentially, this gave architects a whole new set of
building blocks to work with. Narrow, relatively lightweight metal beams
could support much more weight than the solid brick walls in older buildings,
while taking up a fraction of the space. With the advent of theBessemer
process, the first efficient method for mass steel production, architects moved
away from iron. Steel, which is even lighter and stronger than iron, made it
possible to build even taller buildings.

Wind Resistance
In addition to the vertical force of gravity, skyscrapers also have to deal with the horizontal
force of wind. Most skyscrapers can easily move several feet in either direction, like a
swaying tree, without damaging their structural integrity. The main problem with this
horizontal movement is how it affects the people inside. If the building moves a substantial
horizontal distance, the occupants will definitely feel it.

The most basic method for controlling horizontal sway is to simply tighten up the structure.
At the point where the horizontal girders attach to the vertical column, the construction crew
bolts and welds them on the top and bottom, as well as the side. This makes the entire steel
super structure move more as one unit, like a pole, as opposed to a flexible skeleton.
 The Chrysler Building in New York City.

For taller skyscrapers, tighter connections don't really do the trick. To keep these buildings
from swaying heavily, engineers have to construct especially strong cores through the center
of the building. In the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building and other skyscrapers
from that era, the area around the central elevator shafts is fortified by a sturdy steel truss,
braced with diagonal beams. Most recent buildings have one or more concrete cores built into
the center of the building.

Making buildings more rigid also braces them against earthquake damage. Basically, the
entire building moves with the horizontal vibrations of the earth, so the steel skeleton isn't
twisted and strained. While this helps protect the structure of the skyscraper, it can be pretty
rough on the occupants, and it can also cause a lot of damage to loose furniture and
equipment. Several companies are developing new technology that will counteract the
horizontal movement to dampen the force of vibration. To learn more about these systems,
check out How Smart Structures Will Work.
Some buildings already use advanced wind-compensating dampers. The Citicorp Center in
New York, for example, uses a tuned mass damper. In this complex system, oil hydraulic
systems push a 400-ton concrete weight back and forth on one of the top floors, shifting the
weight of the entire building from side to side. A sophisticated computer system carefully
monitors how the wind is shifting the building and moves the weight accordingly. Some
similar systems shift the building's weight based on the movement of giant pendulums.

Vertical Variations
As we've seen in the previous sections, skyscrapers come in all shapes and sizes.
The steel skeleton concept makes for an extremely flexible structure. The
columns and girders are something like giant pieces in an erector set. The only
real limit is the imagination of the architects and engineers who put the pieces
together.

The earliest skyscrapers, built in the late 1800s, were very basic boxes with simple stone and
glass curtain walls. To the architects who built these skyscrapers, the extreme height was
impressive enough. In the period around 1900, the aesthetic began to change. Buildings got
taller, and architects added more extravagant gothic elements, hiding the boxy steel structure
underneath.

The art deco movement of the 1920s, '30s and '40s extended this approach, creating
buildings that stood as true works of art. Some of the most famous skyscrapers, including the
Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building (above), came out of this era. Things shifted
again in the 1950s, when international style began to take hold. Like the earliest
skyscrapers, these buildings had little or no ornamentation. They were made mostly with
glass, steel and concrete.

Since the 1960s, many architects have taken the skyscraper to new and unexpected places.
One of the most interesting variations has been the combination of several vertical skeleton
sections -- or tubes -- into one building. The Sears Tower in Chicago, the most famous
example of this approach, consists of nine aligned tubes that reach to different heights. This
gives the building an interesting staggered appearance.

SHANGHAI WORLD FINANCIAL CENTER (DURING CONSTRUCTION)

SMART CONSTRUCTION (USING DAMPERS)

Unlike many of nature's deadly forces, earthquakes almost always strike without warning.
These destructive and devastating forces can topple cities in seconds, leaving behind rubble
and tragedy in their wakes. Earthquakes are not limited to any one area of the world or any
one season of the year. Although most earthquakes are just small tremors, it only takes one to
cause millions of dollars in property damage and thousands of deaths. For this reason,
scientists continue to pursue new technologies to limit the destruction that earthquakes can
dish out.

At Lord Corporation's labs in Cary, N.C., researchers believe they have developed, in
cooperation with University of Notre Dame researchers, the latest product that can reduce the
damage caused by earthquakes. Lord is one of the largest producers of a unique substance,
called magneto rheological fluid (MR fluid), which is being used inside large dampers to
stabilized buildings during earthquakes. MR fluid is a liquid that changes to a near-solid
when exposed to a magnetic force, then back to liquid once the magnetic force is removed.

During an earthquake, MR fluid inside the dampers will change from solid to liquid and back
as tremors activate a magnetic force inside the damper. Using these dampers in buildings and
on bridges will create smart structures that automatically react to seismic activity. This will
limit the amount of damage caused by earthquakes

During an earthquake, MR fluid inside the dampers will change from solid to liquid and back
as tremors activate a magnetic force inside the damper. Using these dampers in buildings and
on bridges will create smart structures that automatically react to seismic activity. This will
limit the amount of damage caused by earthquakes

What is MR Fluid

MR fluid doesn't seem like such a revolutionary substance. It's a gray, oily liquid that's about
three times denser than water. After absorbing vibrations it becomes solid.
PICTURE SHOWING…….. HOW DAMPERS ARE USED?
(A full-scale MR fluid damper that is 1-meter long and weighs 250 kilograms. This one
damper can exert 20 tons (200,000 N) of force on a building.)
(This is the image showing some of various skyscrapers in accordance with feet, meters
and stories. From various parts of the world.)

QUALITY CONTROL

Various factors are taken into consideration when assuring quality control. Because of the
huge scale of skyscrapers, a small positioning error at the base will be magnified when
extended to the roof. In addition to normal surveying instruments, unusual devices like global
positioning system (GPS) sensors and aircraft bombsights may be used to verify the
placement and alignment of structural members.

Soil sensors around the building site are used to detect any unexpected earth movement
caused by the construction activity.

BYPRODUCTS/WASTE

Excavation of the foundation pit and basement levels requires the removal of enormous
amounts of dirt. When the 110-story World Trade Center towers were built in New York in
the early 1970s, more than I million cubic yards (765,000 cubic meters) of soil and rock were
removed and dumped in the Hudson River to create 23.5 acres (95,100 square meters) of new
land, on which another skyscraper was later constructed.

FUTURE

Improvements in elevator technology will be important for future skyscraper designs. Self-
propelled, cableless elevator cars that move horizontally, as well as vertically, have been
proposed, but are still under development. Computerized car dispatching systems using fuzzy
logic could be refined to carry people more efficiently by grouping passengers whose
destinations are near each other

CONCLUSION

In this paper we have seen some amazing facts and definitions about, what is skyscraper?
What was its nature? History of Skyscraper and how it was constructed with some special
characteristics like Wind Resistance, Earthquake resistance, Fighting Gravity, Importance of
verticality, and Usage of dampers in skyscrapers to absorb the vibrations caused by massive
shocks on the earth surface. It explains well about its substructure, superstructure and also its
finishing procedures. At last it is concluded that, when technology grew up, the stories of
skyscrapers also grew up by means of utilizing the technology by skilled architects,
engineers, and also labors.

References.

WWW.HOWSTUFFWORKS.COM

WWW.ALLABOUTSKYSCRAPERS.COM,

WWW.WIKIPEDIA.ORG, etc....