Computational modeling of a unique tower in Kuwait for structural health monitoring: Numerical investigations

Computational modeling, in addition to data analytics, plays an important role in structural health monitoring (SHM). The high-fidelity computational model based on the design and construction information provide important dynamics information of the structure and, more importantly, can be updated against field measurements for SHM purposes such as damage detection, response prediction, and reliability assessment. In this paper, we present a unique skyscraper (Al-Hamra Tower) located in Kuwait City and its high-fidelity computational model using ETABS for structural health monitoring applications. The tower is made of cast-in-place reinforced concrete with a core of shear walls and two curved shear walls running the height of the building (approximately 413 m with 86 floors in total). Interesting static and dynamic characteristics of the tower are described. System identification, interferometry-based wave propagation analysis, and wave-based damage detection are performed using synthetic data. This work mainly presents the phase of numerical investigations, which serves as a basis for correlating the field monitoring data to the model of the building in future work.