A tubular structural system is used in high-rise buildings to resist lateral loads like wind and seismic forces. These lateral load resisting systems let the building behave like a hollow cylindrical tube cantilevered perpendicular to the ground. Thus the structure exhibits a tubular behavior against the lateral loads.

Features

• The tubular structural system evolved from the concept of the rigid frame system which is a three-dimensional frame capable of resisting all the lateral loads with the façade structure.
• The system consists of an internal core arrangement surrounded by exterior columns. The exterior perimeter columns are closely spaced and tied together with deep beams forming a rigid frame. Hence, this arrangement creates a dense and strong structural wall along the exterior of the building.
• The exterior framing is designed to be strong enough to resist the lateral loads acting on the building, thereby letting the interior of the building resist gravity loads. The interior columns are few in number and located around the core structure.
• The core frame and the perimeter frames are spanned with beams or trusses. These members help to transfer the gravity loads within the structure. This mechanism maximizes the effectiveness of the perimeter tube to resist overturning moments formed due to lateral loads.