Higher Colleges Of Technology
Abu Dhabi Men’s College
Burj Khalifa – Design and Construction
Professional Communication LSEC 307
Prepared by:
Most
Valuable Professionals
Prepared for: Gregory Vrhovnik
Table of Content
1-
Introduction
– Ahmed Al Qasemi
2-
Body
a.
The
Design of Burj Khalifa – Ahmed Al Qasemi / Khaled Al Marri
· Architecture Ahmed Al Qasemi
· Wind Tunnel Testing Khaled Al Merri
b.
Structural
Elements – Abdulla Al Baloushi / Ali Al Ramahi
· Foundation Ali Al Ramahi
· Structural system Abdulla Al Baloushi
· Exterior Cladding Abdulla Al Baloushi
· Fire safety Ali Al Ramahi
3-
Conclusion Ali Al Ramahi
4-
Bibliography Abdulla Al Baloushi
Introduction:
The grand
opening of Burj Khalifa, also known as Burj Dubai, on the fourth of January
2010 was a milestone moment for Dubai to deservedly gain the title of “the
world’s tallest building”. Despite of the financial crisis that struck Dubai in
2009, which put it through a major dilemma, the president of the UAE, H.H
Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed, saved the day and Burj Dubai was completely delivered
with a new name “Burj Khalifa” in honor of His Highness. This contribution
shows how much the UAE is hand in hand to confront any obstacle and this not
just about Dubai itself. This extraordinary skyscraper obviously needless to
say, won a lot of awards and an icon for future sustainable construction that
Dubai always will be proud of (Burj
khalifa wows thousands 2010).
The beauty of
this tower comes from the determination of the architecture Smith to deliver an
outstanding project and a distinctive design that will make it an “everybody
talks about design”. The complexion of this design should not influence the
engineering standards of safety and economic wise. Thus, everything was
considered before putting this project into action in every engineering aspect (Kamin
B. 2010). Moreover, one of the major obstructions that design faced was
Mother Nature. As we know, many high rises buildings are always affected by
natural catastrophes and the region is known if its stability however, wind
load for high rise buildings is something that should be taken into account.
Hence, the design of this tower plays a great contribution into facing this
issue.
Burj Khalifa
with its luxurious amenities, visitors and residents should feel pleasant when
using its facilities and in order to achieve that, the design of this structure
must environmentally sustainable and user friendly for people to utilize. With
respect to that, the safety of the people should be secured from any possible
issues that might occur.
Nevertheless,
this paper shows the early stages of building Burj Khalifa and the engineering
used to design this structure. Furthermore, it will discuss more about the
exterior and how it works against the most influential factors that a counter
attack strategy should be might against the extreme heat in the desert of Dubai
and the intense wind.
A. The design of Burj
Khalifa:
1.
Architecture of Burj Khalifa:
The distinctive
design of Burj Khalifa grabbed the attention of millions all over the world.
The world tallest building embraces both residential and hotel amenities in a
Y-shaped sectional layout. It was not an easy decision to confirm the design in
the real world before settling it down on papers. Many factors was taken into
account before starting to construct the tower like the materials, equipments
and layout The client Emaar properties handed the design of Burj Khalifa to
Adrian Smith, the architect, in partnership with Skidmore, Owings and Merill (Burj
Khalifa | Architect Magazine).
They intended to design the tower in a Y-shape in order to get a maximum view
of the Arabian Gulf and sustain stability and effectiveness at the same time (Burj
Khalifa - World's Tallest Building).
In addition to that, the wings concept in this design is to facilitate easy
access to each part of the tower whether it was the hotel for the visitors or the
residents into their apartments. As it rises towards the sky, the cross section
of the tower decreases as a safety factor for wind load (Lowe,
A., & Badih, 2010). Therefore,
as it rises, it forms a sequence of terraces on certain elevations on each wing.
The tower is
composed of three limbs around the hexagonal center core of the tower. These
three wings of the tower happened to be a major component contributing to wind
load factor. As a construction fact, the design concept was derived from other
towers like Willis Tower and Palace three using a tube structure which is the
center pipe and as an all-residential tower however, the design of it was
neither tube shape nor all residential. They used approximately 4,000,000
kilograms of structural steel. Moreover, the central core of the tower is
weighing around 320,000 kilograms and was erected from within lifted by a
hydraulic jack up to height of 200 meters and the spire of tower contains
communications tools (Burj Khalifa - World's Tallest
Building). The exterior
of Burj Khalifa consists of 142 thousand square meters of cladding system. The
purpose of cladding system is to work as a thermal insulator for the high
temperature in the region.
The interior
design of Burj Khalifa brought the cultural characteristic to the design and
brought past into the future. Like most of architects and well known figures
who admire this masterpiece expressed their thoughts about Burj Khalifa, one
thing was in common. They all addressed the sustainability of this structure and
the efficiency of vertical residence which saves a lot of space on the ground (Lowe A. and Badih S. 2010).
2.
Wind tunnel testing:
With the rapid
economic growth and development, Engineers and architects need to keep on track
with structural evolution. Now days, engineers have started using new materials
that haven’t used before in construction along with building new geometric unique
shapes, and rising in the architectures. Therefore, they have to
guarantee the full safety of the structure. One of the ways of safety is wind
tunnel testing. This kind of tests is under the major of wind engineering and
it is defined as “the
rational treatment of interactions between wind in the atmospheric boundary
layer and man and his works on the surface of Earth." (CPP: Wind Engineering, wind tunnel
testing) The wind tunnel tests need to be done
before the building, during the building and after finishing the structure.
This could minimize the risk and save money and time especially the high rise
buildings. The Benefits of the wind tunnel testing is to “improve knowledge of
local wind conditions, optimize cladding design performance, substantial
reduction in wind forces, eliminate need for supplementary damping, reduce
risk, improve thermal comfort, and pedestrian comfort improved” (Burj
Khalifa - Wind Tunnel Testing).
However, we have an excellent example in UAE,
Dubai which is Burj Khalifa. Burj Khalifa has been tested through more than
forty wind tunnel tests by the wind-engineering experts to check up how the
wind could affect the structure with its occupants. The tests were verified
from the early planning periods to examine Dubai’s weather to the large tests
on the tower during the construction stages, and to the analysis of the climate
at the base of the tower and around it. This processes of testing the tower
pre-construction, while construction and post-construction is to warranty the
safety of Burj Khalifa and its residents and the surroundings structures in all
times. As known, the temperature and pressure changes as you elevate higher as
shown in the chart below (the relation between the importance of wind and
height) thus this apply in the tall buildings such as Burj khalifa (880m
height). In order to deal with the level of changes in the building design, unusual
studies were approved on Burj khalifa to overcome these issues.
B. The structural
elements used to construct Burj Khalifa:
1. Foundation:
The foundation of Burj Khalifa is
so important because if the foundation failed to take the load the tower will
sink. (Burj Khalifa - RitchieWiki. 2012). They used 12500 m2
of concrete in the construction of the foundation 54000 long ton of steel
rebar. The concrete used in the foundation is a high dense, low permeability
concrete. Also, a cathodic protection system was used in order to minimize the
effects of corrosion (Burj Khalifa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).The
foundation of this tower consists of 192 bored piles (Post, R 2010).
It is 1.5 m in diameter and its deep in the ground to reach 50 m deep and the
borehole was filled with viscous
polymer slurry (Burj Khalifa - RitchieWiki. 2012)).The raft was constructed in four separate parts. In
addition, the foundation is a “Y” shape in order to increase the wind resistance
of the building (Jamal, H Design, Construction & Structural Details
of Burj Khalifa). The geography of the ground was mostly soil and rocks
which is generally loose to medium dense sand. Many methods were used to know
the geotechnical of the site such as SPT sampling, double tube rock coring and
they have done approximately 33 borehole drills to complete the geotechnical
investigation (Post, R. 2010). The boreholes were made in 4
stages. First stage, 23 boreholes were made with depth of 90 meter. Second
stage, 3 boreholes were drilled with cross-hole geophysics. Third stage, 6
boreholes with depth of 60 meter were made. Last stage, one borehole was
drilled with depth of 140 meters.
2. Structural system:
This part will
describe the structural system as simply as possible, First we have the shape
of Burj Khalifa and its look like Y, and it has aesthetic and functional advantages, “ also on the other
hand we have ideal for providing a high-performance, efficient structure. The
structural system for the Burj Khalifa can be described as a “buttressed-core”
and consists of high-performance concrete wall construction. Each of the wings
buttresses the others via a six-sided central core, or hexagonal hub’’ (Baker,
W. F., Pawlikowski, Structural Engineer),
Also we have the corridor walls which they are interesting in design, In
general “corridor walls extend from the central core to near the end of each
wing, terminating in thickened hammer head walls. These corridor walls and
hammerhead walls behave similar to the webs and flanges of a beam to resist the
wind shears and moments. Perimeter columns and flat plate floor construction
complete the system’’ (Burj Khalifa | Structural Elements), beside this “the building is spirals high and many different
floor plates is have been provided because of wings setback and as results
there is no structural transfer effect to the tower, in addition we have
different width to the tower for each differing floor plate and these an
advantage for the setback’’ (Burj Khalifa |
Structural Elements)
3. Exterior cladding:
The exterior
cladding process has begun in May 2007 and the mission accomplished was in
September 2009. At the initial stage of installation, “the team progressed at
the rate of about 20 to 30 panels per day and eventually achieved as many as
175 panels per day. Burj Khalifa has set a new world record for the highest
installation of an aluminum and glass facade, at 512 meters. The total weight
of aluminum used on Burj Khalifa is equivalent to that of five A380 aircraft
and the total length of stainless steel bull nose fins is 293 times the height
of Eiffel Tower in Paris. The exterior cladding is comprised of reflective
glazing with aluminum and textured stainless steel spandrel panels and
stainless steel vertical tubular fins. Close to 26,000 glass panels, each
individually hand-cut, were used in the exterior cladding of the tower. Over 300
cladding specialists from China were brought in to do the work’’ (Staff
2010). Also the amazing about the
cladding system is been designed to stand in Dubai extreme summer heat, for
more confident about the system they brought a World War II airplane engine was
used for dynamic wind and water testing. To get the idea about the curtain wall
of Burj Khalifa they equivalent to 17 football (soccer)
fields or 25 American football fields’’. (Burj
Khalifa | Structural Elements | Exterior
cladding).
4. Fire safety:
One of the concerns that the
engineers had was building a tower that can be safe for the people in cases of
fire. The design was done in order they can evacuate people fast and be safe
through any fire emergency. The stairs are made of concrete “which is an
inflammable material “. Also, they Burj Khalifa has a serves elevator which can
hold over 5000 kgs. To make sure people are evacuated safely, pressurized and
air conditioned areas were made every 25 floors (Burj Khalifa Structural
Elements | Fire safety) the fire system consists of fire
alarm and sprinkler systems to help with putting down the fire. Each floor have
its own independent system, in case of fire they can locate the specific floor
and alert the floor immediately above and below, other floors will be only
alerted at early stages (Writer, S 2008) Fire safety at height). In
addition, in case of emergency a special team was trained for a fast rescue in
cases of fire. The team is trained very well to face fire and natural
catastrophes such as earth quakes and sand storms. The team is always ready for
any emergencies onsite. (Lowe, A., & Badih, S 2010)
Conclusion
In conclusion, at first we talked
about the architecture of Burj Khalifa, who was in charge of designing and
construction and the interior of the tower. Second, we discussed the definition
of wind tunnel testing, the major benefits of these tests and the wind tunnel
used in Burj Khalifa. Third, we talked about the foundation used in Burj
Khalifa , the shape of the foundation and the size of the foundation needed to
be used and the condition of the soil in the site of Burj Khalifa. Afterward,
we talked about the structural analysis of the tower such as the shape of the
building and how the shape of the building play big role in resisting wind.
After that, we discussed the exterior cladding of the building and the panels
of the cladding and the design of it. Last, the fire system used in the
landscaper and the emergency team reaction in case of any emergency. Burj
Khalifa is an amazing Engineering achievement. The design of it makes it one of
the most appealing and greatest looking skyscrapers. Regardless of how
skyscrapers are built, Burj Khalifa will always have its mark in history in
fields of engineering and architecture.
Word
Count: 2312 words
Bibliography
Baker, W.
F., Pawlikowski,. Structural Engineer. Structural
Engineer. Retrieved November 29, 2012, from http://www.gostructural.com/magazine-article-gostructural.com-12-2009-design_and_construction_of_the_world_acute_s_tallest_building__the_burj_dubai-7709.html
Burj Khalifa |
Commercial, Entertainment, Hospitality, Multifamily, Office, Retail | Architect
Magazine. (n.d.). Architect Magazine: Architectural Design | Architect
Online: A premier site for Architecture Industry News & Building Resources.
Retrieved November 29, 2012, from
http://www.architectmagazine.com/projects/view/burj-khalifa/30/
Burj Khalifa |
Structural Elements | Elevators, Spire & More. (n.d.). Visit the Burj
Khalifa -- The Tallest Building in the World. Retrieved November 29, 2012,
from http://www.burjkhalifa.ae/the-tower/structure.aspx#fire
Burj
khalifa wows thousands. (2010, Jan 07). Khaleej
Times. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/434522444?accountid=1215
Burj Khalifa -
World's Tallest Building. (n.d.). Architecture and House Styles and Building
Design. Retrieved November 29, 2012, from http://architecture.about.com/od/skyscrapers/ig/World-s-Tallest-Buildings/Burj-Dubai-.htm
Burj Khalifa |
Structural Elements | Elevators, Spire & More. (n.d.). Visit the Burj
Khalifa -- The Tallest Building in the World. Retrieved November 29, 2012,
from http://www.burjkhalifa.ae/the-tower/structure.aspx#Structural_System
Burj Khalifa |
Structural Elements | Elevators, Spire & More. (n.d.). Visit the Burj
Khalifa -- The Tallest Building in the World. Retrieved November 29, 2012,
from http://www.burjkhalifa.ae/the-tower/structure.aspx#exterior
Burj Khalifa -
Wind Tunnel Testing. (n.d.). Issuu - You Publish. Retrieved November 29,
2012, from http://issuu.com/rwdi/docs/burj_khalifa
Burj Khalifa -
RitchieWiki. (2012, February 22). RitchieWiki - Equipment Specifications,
Information, and Photos - RitchieWiki. Retrieved November 29, 2012, from
http://www.ritchiewiki.com/wiki/index.php/Burj_Dubai
Burj Khalifa -
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Retrieved November 29, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burj_Khalifa
CPP: Wind
Engineering, wind tunnel testing, and computer airflow simulations for
buildings and structures. (n.d.). CPP: Wind Engineering, wind tunnel
testing, and computer airflow simulations for buildings and structures.
Retrieved November 29, 2012, from http://www.cppwind.com/pages/wind_engineering.html
Jamal, H.
(n.d.). Design, Construction & Structural Details of Burj Khalifa | Tallest
Skyscraper. Engineering Dictionary, Engineering Encyclopedia | Free Civil,
Mech Engg. Retrieved November 29, 2012, from http://www.enggpedia.com/civil-engineering-encyclopedia/megastructures/burj-khalifa-structural-details
Kamin, B.
(2010). burj khalifa, dubai. Architectural Record, 198(8), 78. http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.hct.ac.ae/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=55691155&site=ehost-live
Lowe, A., &
Badih, S. (2010, January 6). Burj Khalifa is an outstanding example of
sustainable architecture | GulfNews.com. Latest News, Pictures, Video, Multimedia | Gulf News - The Middle
East's News homepage. Retrieved November 29, 2012, from http://gulfnews.com/business/general/burj-khalifa-is-an-outstanding-example-of-sustainable-architecture-1.563396
Lowe, A., &
Badih, S. (2010, January 6). Burj Khalifa is an outstanding example of
sustainable architecture | GulfNews.com. Latest News, Pictures, Video, Multimedia | Gulf News - The Middle
East's News homepage. Retrieved November 29, 2012, from
http://gulfnews.com/business/general/burj-khalifa-is-an-outstanding-example-of-sustainable-architecture-1.563396
Post, R. (2010,
January 4). Foundations and Geotechnical Engineering for the Burj Dubai World
Tallest Building | GeoPrac.net. GeoPrac.net - Geotechnical engineering and
geological engineering news blog, articles and links. Retrieved November
29, 2012, from http://www.geoprac.net/geonews-mainmenu-63/64-project-related/634-foundations-for-the-burj-dubai-worlds-tallest-building
Staff, C. (2010,
January 16). How the Burj was built . Construction Week Online Middle East |
ConstructionWeekOnline.com. Retrieved November 29, 2012, from
http://www.constructionweekonline.com/article-7400-how-the-burj-was-built/1/print/
Writer, S.
(2008, April 20). Fire safety at height. Fire safety at height.
Retrieved November 29, 2012, from www.arabianbusiness.com/fire-safety-at-height-50748.html
