Occupant comfort evaluation and wind-induced serviceability design optimization of tall buildings

This paper presents an integrated wind-induced dynamic analysis and computer-based design optimization technique for minimizing the structural cost of general tall buildings subject to static and dynamic serviceability design criteria. Once the wind-induced dynamic response of a tall building structure is accurately determined and the optimal serviceability design problem is explicitly formulated, a rigorously derived Optimality Criteria (OC) method is to be developed to achieve the optimal distribution of element stiffness of the structural system satisfying the wind-induced drift and acceleration design constraints. The effectiveness and practicality of the optimal design technique are illustrated by a full-scale 60-story building with complex 3D mode shapes. Both peak resultant acceleration criteria and frequency dependent modal acceleration criteria are considered and their influences on the optimization results are highlighted. Results have shown that the use of various acceleration criteria has different implications in the habitability evaluations and subsequently different optimal design solutions. The computer based optimization technique provides a powerful tool for the lateral drift and occupant comfort design of tall building structures.