Investigation of behavior of cooling tower structure under external loads

Abstract

Cooling towers are high and thin structures which are widely used at the industry and nuclear facilities. These structures are built on column elements as reinforced concrete. Determining the behavior of the buildings affected by the dynamic loads such as wind and earthquake is very important in terms of preventing the loss of life and property. In this study, hyperbolic cooling with 117m height tower was examined and the behaviors of the structure in earthquake and wind effects were investigated. During the application of the wind load, 25m / sec wind velocity was applied and three ground motion records were applied to the structures in the course of the earthquake analysis. The wind load was calculated in accordance with the ASCE 7-10 standard and it was given as angular. As a result of the analysis, the values of the displacement and stress were obtained and examined. According to the results of the wind load analysis; As the height of the tower increases, the values of wind load increase and the displacement values occurring in the building increase. The values of displacement and stress vary angularly depending on angular wind load. It is seen that the highest values of displacement and stress values were obtained in Kobe earthquake. Displacement values were examined depending on the height and the largest displacement values were obtained at the top part.