Evaluation of coupling-control effect of a sky-bridge for adjacent tall buildings

In this study, the coupling–control effect of a sky‐bridge for adjacent tall buildings has been investigated. To this end, two building structures of 42‐ and 49‐stories connected by a sky‐bridge and constructed in the Seoul, Korea, were used. Earthquake excitations and wind load data obtained from wind tunnel tests are employed for numerical simulation. Lead rubber bearings and linear motion bearings were used for the connectors between the sky‐bridge and the example buildings. Several types of connector configurations were investigated to find an appropriate configuration for the tall buildings considered. The displacement and acceleration responses of the coupled buildings, and the reactions of the bearings and member forces of the sky‐bridge were evaluated in comparison with the uncoupled buildings. Numerical results demonstrated that the sky‐bridge could effectively increase the damping ratio of the coupled tall buildings, resulting in decreased dynamic responses. In addition, it was shown that the coupling–control effect of the sky‐bridge could be significantly improved by using additional viscous dampers. The connection system and configuration proposed in this study had been applied to the construction of the sky‐bridge for the example structures. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.