This study examines the application of high-strength concrete (HSC) in
structural walls of tall buildings. Emphasis is put on the cost-benefits
corresponding to the use of higher concrete strengths. The parameters
included in the cost analysis are: the material cost of concrete and reinforcing
steel; the construction costs including the placement costs of the steel
reinforcement and wet concrete, and the formwork cost; and the cost-benefit additional floor area gains, corresponding to thinner walls resulted from applications.
In lateral load resisting buildings, HSC are more likely to be used in the
structural columns and walls. It is shown in the review of literature (Chapter 2) that the utilisations of HSC in building applications are economical. The work done so far was mostly involving the use of HSC columns in the medium-rise
buildings. The cost analyses carried out in this thesis reveals that significant
cost-benefits can also be achieved in the HSC walls. Comparing to the 40 MPa concrete, a 120 MPa concrete wall building capitalising at $8,000 per square
meter results in a cost-benefit more than 2.5 times the construction costs of the 40 MPa wall, a significant amount.
The structural walls investigated are two-dimensional cantilever and coupled
walls, and a threerdimensional core wall comprising two 'C' shape walls and
header beams coupling the two walls. The results of the investigations are presented in Chapters 6 and 7. A case study of a model 30-storey building is also given in Chapter 8. This study concluded that the use of HSC in structural
wall buildings is recommended.