The Victoria Tower in Kista north of Stockholm is a 120m high building with 34 storeys. Special emphasis must be placed on the structural calculations when designing a tower both tall and narrow. The Gothenburg company Integra Engineering has used the advanced structural design software FEM-Design for both the static and dynamic analysis of the project.
”I have worked with FEM-Design since 2001 and it is the program we use for 3D structural design,” says consultant Martin Rienholdsson.
”The program is simple to work with. The latest version has really advanced, among other things it has become much easier to use and calculation times are much faster. Compared with other FE programs, StruSoft’s program is very user-friendly which is precisely what we need.”
Full structural analysis
When it comes to the Victoria Tower, the program was used for everything to do with calculating the normal limit states. To do the analysis and for studying the force distribution together with all the other matters that relate to this type of building.
The main requirement for Integra Engineering was to determine the column reactions, loads and beam forces.
Among the most important things in the building are the two stabilising cores, one for the stairs and one for the lifts. This is where the Engineers used FEM-Design to do the stress analysis.
“We have used FEM-Design for nearly everything that relates to our involvement with Victoria Tower,” says Anders Klittmar, project leader. ”The building has an eccentric centre of rotation of the frame that means it acts in different ways.”
“We put all the geometry we had into FEM-Design,” says Martin Reinholdsson. ”By selecting a structure, seeing how it behaves then extracting what we needed out of the selected structure, we iterated to the correct dimensions, stresses, forces, and geometry.”
Anders Klittmar pointed out that one must use this type of program with respect. It requires experience to create an effective model.
Has FEM-Design met the requirements for such an advanced project as the Victoria Tower?
Absolutely” say Anders Klittmar and Martin Reinholdsson. ”The program has everything one needs.”
Both engineers believe that they would not had as effective control of the design if they had not had access to FEM-Design.
“To have an advanced but never-the-less simple and easy to use programme for 3D modelling is even more important when it comes to such major tall buildings as the Victoria Tower.”
Göran Nilsson
