MCS605

Unit Description and General Aims

With advances in technology and continually increasing aspirations, society is seeing trends in structural engineering towards the construction of ever-taller buildings and ever-longer and more complex bridges. This unit looks at these two structural forms in greater detail, beginning with a focus on high rise building design.  Attention is first given to structural forms commonly adopted for high rise design and the distribution of vertical and lateral design loads.  Methods of analysis are next considered for both serviceability and ultimate limit state design and for both static and dynamic analysis. The study on high rise buildings concludes with a critique of construction and durability issues specific to this structural type.

The second part of the course switches to a focus on bridge design, beginning with a review of different bridge types and their associated load paths, including a review of different types of bridge decks. Loading conditions for bridges are studied next, including gravity and lateral loads but also temperature and time-dependent design considerations. The unit concludes with a focus on design procedures for the most common bridge forms and case studies related to both successful and unsuccessful bridges designs.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students are expected to be able to:

1. Make judgements and be familiar with the most commonly encountered structural forms for high rise buildings and for bridges

         Bloom’s Level 5

2. Formulate a design load combinations suitable for high rise buildings and for bridges

         Bloom’s Level 6

3. Determine static and dynamic analysis of both high rise buildings and bridges

         Bloom’s Level 5

4. Optimise preliminary design for different floor types that are most commonly used in high rise building and for different bridge deck types that are most commonly encountered in bridges

         Bloom’s Level 5

5. Propose important aspects of construction sequencing for high rise buildings and for bridges

         Bloom’s Level 6

6. Synthesise some of the most well-known failures for high rise building and bridges, as a guide to inform correct design in future

         Bloom’s Level 6

Student assessment

Prescribed and Recommended readings

Required textbook(s)

1. Taranath, B.S. (2016). Structural Analysis and Design of Tall Buildings: Steel and Composite Construction’, CRC Press.
2. Zhao, J. J. and Tonias, D. E. (2017). ‘Bridge Engineering: Design, Rehabilitation, and Maintenance of Modern Highway Bridges, 4^th Edition, McGraw Hill.

Reference Materials

Number of peer-reviewed journals and websites as advised below (and during lectures);

1. Resources from the American Institute of Steel Construction website (https://www.aisc.org/).
2. Other material to be advised during the lectures.

Unit Content

One topic is delivered per contact week, with the exception of part-time 24-week units, where one topic is delivered every two weeks.

Topic 1

Structural forms for multi-storey buildings

1. Structural forms and load paths.
2. Lateral load resisting systems.
3. Gravity load resisting systems.
4. Design loads

Topic 2

Multi-storey building limit states and analysis

1. Serviceability and ultimate limit states overview.
2. Sub-assemblage analysis for preliminary design.
3. Stability and second order effects.
4. Methods of static and dynamic analysis.

Topic 3

Building floor system design

1. One way and two way in-situ concrete floor systems.
2. Composite steel/concrete floor systems.
3. Precast concrete + topping floor system.

Topic 4

Dynamic response of tall building

1. Dynamic response to lateral loading.
2. Serviceability and ultimate limit states.

Topic 5

Building construction

1. Construction sequencing.
2. Differential shortening.
3. Durability.
4. Maintenance.

Topic 6

Structural forms for bridges

1. Types of bridges.
2. Types of bridge decks.
3. Structural forms and load paths.

Topic 7

Bridge load cases and combinations

1. Dead load.
2. Static and dynamic vehicle loads.
3. Temperature effects.
4. Creep and shrinkage effects.
5. Static and dynamic wind loads.
6. Static and dynamic earthquake loads.
7. Fatigue loads.
8. Load combinations.

Topic 8

Bridge flat slabs

1. Flat slab loads.
2. Flat slab design.

Topic 9

Bridge slab and deck

1. Deck loads.
2. Deck design.

Topic 10

Bridge box girder

1. Box girder loads.
2. Box girder design.

Topic 11

Case study building failure

Citicorp Centre in New York.

Topic 12

Case study bridge failure

1. Tennessee River Bridge Collapse in 1995.
2. I35 interstate bridge collapse.
3. Derwent River bridge in Hobart in 1975.

Software/Hardware Used

Software

• Software: N/A

• Version: N/A

• Instructions:  N/A

• Additional resources or files: N/A

Hardware

• N/A