Analysis And Design Of Long Span Skybridge Between High-rise Towers

In last decades, with the development of the engineering technology, the types of tall buildings become more and more diversified. Because of their large scale and modern style, the connected buildings are preferred by many architects. The connected buildings refer to one group of buildings connected by one or more skybridges setting between two or more buildings at certain elevation. Through the skybridges, the originally separated structures become one part of the whole structure. This has made the structural design a more challenging task than ever. How to efficiently and exactly analyze and design the skybridge-connected buildings and how to evaluate the anti-seismic capacity of the skybridge-connected buildings has been an important and emergent research topic.The first and second chapters address the state of the art of the design and research of the skybridge-connected buildings and the basic theories of the related static analysis. The discussion focuses on the three-dimensional finite element analysis method. The most popular analysis software is also discussed.The third chapter analyzes the structural characteristics of the long-span skybridge-connected tall buildings project, which is the engineering background of this thesis. Elastic static analysis was carried out for the project. Three different truss models were created to discuss the influence of structural stiffness, member force and torsional effects. Different types of the connecting support, which is used to connect the skybridges and the main towers, were analyzed. The static elastoplastic analysis was also conducted for the main towers to determine the maximum possible deformation of the tower under earthquake attack. The deformation is then used to determine the maximum movement of the connecting support.The fourth chapter analyses the ultimate load-bearing capacity of the skybridge under vertical loading. The load-bearing capacity calculation brings the horizontal effect of the skybridge deck into consideration. The ultimate load-bearing capacities of the three models are compared and the structural pattern of the skybridge is determined based on the comparison.