Technical Report on Innovation of Burj Khalifa

Technical Report on Innovation of Burj Khalifa
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ABSTRACT
New generation of complex and super tall buildings systems are today being introduced that reflect the latest developments in construction, design, materials, IT technologies and sustainability. The Burj Khalifa Project, which began in 2004, is the tallest superstructure built by man, and rises 828 meters high comprising of 162 floors and three basement levels (Abdelrazaq 6). The building’s structural and foundation system was very essential in the architectural massing as well as design of this multi-user structure, where taming and mitigating the dynamic seismic effects was an imperative design criterion that was established at the beginning of the project design. Therefore, with regard to innovative technology, the purpose of this report/paper is to discuss the earthquake design of Burj Khalifa during construction phase, and during its service life.
From the research, the findings revealed that the engineers and architects of Burj Khalifa Project used a very unique and innovative method to ensure that the building withstands and resists seismic tremors of up to 7.0 on the Richter scale. This method involved constructing the foundation using high-performance concrete buttressed bore piles that make the superstructure endure earthquakes of between 5.5 to 7.0 on the Richter scale. In addition, they ensured that there is a rapid evacuation system by incorporating fast and high capacity lifts that evacuate occupants from the building as quickly as possible in the event of a security issue such as an earthquake.
1.0 Introduction
An earthquake is today the most extreme condition any structure is required to endure. Designing Burj Khalifa to withstand and resist an earthquake posed a big challenge to structural engineers, architects and designers. Nevertheless, the technological advances and computational power in the industry of earthquake protection made the solution a reality. This paper provides a comprehensive report on earthquake design, an innovative technology as it was applied in the Burj Khalifa Project, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
2.0 Structural System
2.1 General
The Burj Khalifa Project, which commenced in 2004 and completed in 2010, was a multi-use development structure comprising a total floor area of 460,000 square meters including commercial, hotel, residential, office, parking, leisure and shopping facilities. It is 828 meters high with 162 floors and was intended to be the focus of the large scale Burj Khalifa development (Abdelrazaq 12). The massing of the structure is organized around a middle core that has three wings, each consisting of four bays. At each seventh floor of the building, one outer bay peels away as the building spirals upwards into the sky. Burj Khalifa has ‘Y’ shaped floor plans which maximizes views and allows the tenants to have ample amount of natural light. The building’s engineers constructed the superstructure to resist earthquakes much stronger than could be expected in the region. Abdelrazaq (13) stated that it can resist seismic tremors of between 5.5 to 7.0 magnitude on the Richter scale. However, the building faced some shaking in 2008 when an earthquake with epicentre in Iran rattled it, but the engineers maintained that the building did not suffer any damage (Jamal 23).
2.2 Strategy for Structural System Selection
From the commencement of the design process of the building, the structural design was formulated basing on the objectives of combining the architectural and structural design concept, and incorporated the following structural strategy as Jamal (24) pointed out:
Incorporating the most recent innovations in design, analysis, materials as well as construction techniques.
Limiting the movement of the building – acceleration, torsional velocity and drift – to meet the international accepted design standards and criteria.
To locate and manage the gravity load resisting system in order to make the most of its use in resisting the lateral loads whilst harmonizing with the tower’s architectural planning.
Control the building’s dynamic response under seismic tremors by tuning the structural characteristics to enhance its dynamic behaviour. Favourable dynamic behaviour of Burj Khalifa was accomplished by:
Decreasing the building’s floor plan along the height, and therefore effectively tapering the profile of the structure.
Varying the shape of the structure along the height, whilst continuing the tower’s gravity as well as lateral load resisting system.
Although a number of structural options were considered for designing earthquake resistant Burj Khalifa, the following were selected: High strength, stiffness, high performance concrete, moldability, and the general use of the tower.



Figure 1. Lateral Load Resisting System and photo of the finished structure
3.0 Earthquake design
During the construction of Burj Khalifa, the engineers followed the Life-Safety Design, also known as the Earthquake Resistant Design (ERD) for the special purpose of protection against earthquakes. The design aims at preventing total building collapse in the event of an earthquake, and thereby, saving lives (Abdelrazaq 17).
However, an earthquake resistant building does not necessarily guarantee that it would still be habitable following a huge earthquake. This is because the earthquake will be detrimental to the structure and in the event that the damage is beyond a threshold level, there would not be any other option other than demolishing and re-constructing. In the case of Bur...