Abstract

Study on Structural Behaviour of Hexagrid Structural Systems in Multi Storey Buildings

Author(s): Diya Susan Ebin and D. Arul Prakash

The advancement of technology and development of economy of the world have brought the new era of tall buildings. The most efficient building system for high rises has been the tube-type structural systems. Now-a-days, a particular structural system called a diagrid system has caught the attention of engineers. In order to improve the efficiency of tube-type structures in tall buildings, as both structural and architectural requirements are provided well, a new structural system, called "Hexagrid", is introduced in this study. It consists of multiple hexagonal grids on the face of the building. However limited academic researchers have been done with focus on the structural behaviour, design criteria and performance assessment of this structural system. In this research, a set of structures using hexagrid system of various geometrical attributes of the module (width, height, angle and scale), by changing the angle of diagonals (variable angles of 100, 110, 120, 130, 140 degrees) as well as by varying storey height along the building height were analysed and designed on a strength based approach by Finite Element Analysis software. The resulting hexagrid structures are assessed under gravity and lateral loads and various performance parameters are evaluated on the basis of the analysis results. The impact of different geometric configurations of structural members on the maximum lateral displacement, steel material density on facade, capacity of load carrying, time period and inter storey drift in hexagrid systems is to be studied and compared. The comparison in terms of performances finally allows for discussing efficiency potentials of the different patterns.