There are 7 different forms of structural design used to form multi-storey buildings within the building industry today,
They are:-
• Shear wall structures
• Hull core structures
• Propped structures
• Suspended structures
• Traditional framed/caged structures
• Cantilevered structures
• Braced structures
The two that are popular and most widely used are shear wall structuresand braced structures.
SHEAR WALL STRUCTURES
These are made up from Concrete continuous vertical walls that are used as both architecturally partitions and structurally to carry gravity and lateral loading. They are very high in plane stiffness and strength which makes them the ideal panels for bracing tall buildings; they also act as vertical cantilevers in the form of separate planar walls, and as non-planar assemblies of connected walls around elevator, stair and service shafts.
This way of forming a building is well suited to hotel and residential buildings where the floor-by floor repetitive planning allows the walls to be vertically continuous and where they serve simultaneously as excellent acoustic and fire insulators between rooms and apartments.
Advantages:-
• Tensile reinforcement for areas where tension stresses occur in
• Walls when wind uplifts stresses exceed gravity stresses.
• High strength concrete has enable wall thickness to be minimized, hence maximizing rentable floor space.
• Technology exists to pump and to place high-strength concrete at high elevation.
• Fire rating for service and passenger elevator shafts is achieved by simply placing concrete of a determined thickness.
• The need for complex bolted or side-welded steel connections is avoided.
• Well detail reinforce concrete will develop about twice as much damping as structural steel.
Disadvantages:-
• Shear walls formed around elevator and service risers require a concentration of opening at ground level where stresses are critical.
• Shear wall vertical movements will