Group 071-01: Freedom Tower: May 2015

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Week 6

This week was dedicated towards working on our final report draft. Being that this is a mainly research based project we had a lot of transcribing of data as well as resources to site. However we did not have as many deliverables as other groups may have had. We are instead working on a powerpoint to display our research as well as a model which was created using the 3D printer. We had some difficulties coming up with a budget because the project is so research based and the 3D print model is free. So we decided for now to include binding materials for our model such as glue. For the actual final report we will be estimating the cost of the 3D print by finding the volume of the model we created and applying the cost per cubic inch

For the final report, we decided to split the workload into five sections. Steve worked on the “Problem Overview” and the “Existing Solution” section. Liam did the “Abstract” and the “Project Objective” sections. Chen worked on the “Project Timeline” and “Budget” sections. Tilvander worked on the “Final Model” section and organized the resources. Kyle did the “Research” and “Discussion” section.

Week 7

This week was used to finish the design for the 3D print model in solidworks. The final hurdles to make it over was hollowing out the inside and enlarge the model. The hollowing out was trial and error to see how the cost could be reduced for our print. In order to enlarge the model we ended up printing three different pieces that would be put together when the print was done.

The assembly of the freedom tower is shown above. The assembly consisted of simple mates on the bottom of each piece. The finals dimensions are as follows: 1.5in by 1.5in base, 1in by 1in top face and a total height of 11in. The model is hollowed out to save on the cost of building materials.

Thursday, May 7, 2015

Aspasia Zerva

Professor in the department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering. She received her PHD in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois. Her research interests include earthquake engineering and engineering seismology. She is currently leading our class based on famous structures.

zervaa@drexel.edu

Tilvinder Singh

Tilvinder Singh is from Philadelphia Pennsylvania and is a freshman attending Drexel University as a computer engineer. He chose Drexel because it is in Philadelphia and the coop program for engineering is one of the best in the area.
ts862@drexel.edu

Stephen Maciejewski

Steve is a biomedical engineer who is in the five year program at Drexel university. He hopes to graduate and move on to medical school after his undergrad. Steve is from Springfield, Pennsylvania.

sam496@drexel.edu

Project Overview

The basis of the project is to compare the old world trade center to the newly constructed freedom tower. The task is to research the failings of the first world trade in the 9/11 attacks and see how the design was improved in the freedom tower. Also the design team is going to theoretically improve on the design of the freedom tower to see if further improvements can be made, such as anti natural disaster measures and an anti sway design.

Chen Sitong

Chen has come to study abroad from China. He was originally living in Beijing but is now here in Philadelphia. Chen is an environmental engineer at Drexel University.

sc3348@drexel.edu

chensitong0100@gmail.com

Liam Walsh

Liam Walsh is a mechanical engineer studying at Drexel University. He is from Harrisburg Pennsylvania and is a freshman.
lsw43@drexel.edu

Kyle Breiman

Kyle is from Mahopac New York and is now attending Drexel University as a civil engineer with hopes to duel major in Architectural Engineering. He joined Drexel because he believed the engineering program here was on of the best he had seen as well as the co-op's and location of the university.

kjb336@drexel.edu

kylebreiman @gmail.com

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Week 5

This week was used to talk about the foundation of the freedom tower, how we could start thinking of improvements and what the model would be created out of. It is slowly transitioning to the phase where we have to be conscious of our time because we are approaching the halfway mark.

Improvements

-Add a sway correcting pendulum to the top floor of the tower

-Waterproof the first two floors and increase the glass thickness so that the water pressure can not breach

-Put fish tanks on all the floors above 5 to relax the occupants of the building

[1] Foundation

-Strongest foundation in Manhattan

-Built to withstand 14,000 pounds per square inch

-3 times the strength of a home and 5 times the strength of a sidewalk

-24 jumbo steel columns 18 meters long and 64 metric tons for a total of 40,000 metric tons

-22,000 cubic yards

-An area was redone for performing 4,000 pounds per square inch short in a 6 inch section

[2]

Model

-We have known that we would 3D print a base for our model

-We will be creating parts to add onto the base model based on what altercation are made to the original design to improve the structure

The final piece of the freedom tower is the top section. This piece is similar to the middle section however it does not have a cylinder on the top of the the piece. This piece will connect with the middle piece to complete the 3-D model of the Freedom Tower. The dimensions for this piece are as follows: Height of 10in, the top square is 2in by 2in. The assembly of the tower and a better explanation of all the dimensions can be found in next weeks blog.

[1] http://jeffnorton.com/freedom-rising/

[2] http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-04-16-tower-concrete_N.htm

Week 4

The research for this week was centered around the important design aspects of skyscrapers in general. It was important for our group to gain an understanding of the basics of designing a building of this scale.

[2]

[1] Basics

- Elevator shaft serves as the central core

- There needs to be an adequate elevator to floor ratio allowing for effective movement through the building.

- Make occupants feel comfortable

- Area around the central elevator shaft is fortified by a steel truss braced by diagonal beams

-Some have more than one concrete core

-Lightweight steel skeleton

Balance

-Skyscrapers are so big that the building is expected to have some movement.

-improtant occupants do not notice swaying

-Wind compensation dampers

-Oil hydraulic systems push weights back and forth at the top to control the sway of the building

This basic information provides ideas on what is needed in the design of the Freedom Tower and how we can build off the previous design.

The second piece of the freedom tower is the mid section. The only reason the top part of the freedom tower is not just one solid piece is because the object would not fit in the 3-D printer. This piece has a cylinder on the top just like the previous week but it also has an open socket on the bottom for the base to easily connect to this piece. The dimensions for this piece are as follows: width 3.2in, length 3.2in, height 8.912in. The dimension for the socket on the bottom is a radius of 1.02in located at the center of the bottom face. The dimensions for the inverted triangles will be explained better in the blog 2 weeks from now.

[1] http://science.howstuffworks.com/engineering/structural/skyscraper.htm

[2] http://www.freedomwallpaper.com/city-wallpapers/new-york-skyscraper-1920x1080-wallpaper-4356/

Week 3

This week was spent looking at natural disasters and how they could affect structures in New York. The research we were able to do on the actual structure was not as easy to find as we had hoped so we started looking at what things would pose a threat to the integrity of the Freedom Tower. We also began the process of constructing a CAD model. We scaled the dimensions down by 750x so that it was easily portable.

Common issues that affect the building

-Gravity

-Fire

-Wind

-Water

[3]

[1] Hurricanes

-Manhattan is located near an ocean

-Hurricanes are getting worse due to global warming

Floyd Winds: 60 mph

1999 Rain: Several inches of flash flooding

Irene Winds: 65 mph

2011 Rain: 7 inches

Sandy Winds: 85 mph

2012 Rain: 9.41ft

- All time high of winds from 100 -135 mph

This knowledge is important so that we know what the tower was built to stand firm through and how we can make improvements to the design based on the basic needs for structural integrity.

The first piece made was the base of the Freedom tower. This piece was relatively straight forward because it was just a square with a height a little smaller than the length and width. The cylinder on the top is just there to attach the other pieces together. The dimensions for the box are: length 3.2in, width 3.2in, height 2.976in. The dimensions of the cylinder are: radius of 1in, height of 1in and is located in the center of the square. These dimensions are exactly 750x times smaller than the actual dimensions

[2] All dimensions are based on the following actual dimensions of the building:

Length: 200ft

Width: 200ft

Height: 186ft

[1] http://www.nyc.gov/html/oem/html/hazards/storms_hurricanehistory.shtml

[2] http://www.glasssteelandstone.com/BuildingDetail/439.php

[3] http://thetruthwins.com/archives/11-horrifying-photos-of-the-devastation-caused-by-hurricane-sandy

Week 2

This weeks research was dedicated towards an understanding of what the new Freedom Tower has to see if there are any obvious areas to make improvements. This is going to be a more difficult approach because of how recently the tower was constructed.

Safety[1]

-Dedicated firefighter staircase

-Structural redundancy

-Fireproofing

-Biological/Chemical filters

-Concrete sprinkler protection

-All life support/escape systems are inside of a concrete core 3-feet thick in some areas

-Emergency communication cables.