Abstract
With the recent collapse of a cooling tower in Scotland having been attributed to the presence of imperfections in the positioning of the shell surface, the influences on the linear elastic behavior of axi-symmetric meridional imperfections in cooling tower shells are reassessed. It is shown that even moderate imperfections can result in horizontal membrane tension stresses of similar orders of magnitude as the vertical membrane compression stresses that would exist in the perfect tower. The geometrically imperfect shell is modelled as an assemblage of piecewise continuous second order shells of rotation. The differential system describing the behavior of this shell assemblage is briefly outlined, and a selection of numerical experiments using a finite difference approximation are used to isolate the dominant parameters controlling the response of the imperfect shell.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
