Response of fiber reinforced plastic chimneys to wind loads

Abstract

Due to their high corrosion and chemical resistance, fiber reinforced plastics (FRP) are becoming widely used as the main structural material for industrial chimneys. However, no national code currently exists for the design of such type of chimneys. The purpose of this study is to investigate analytically the response of FRP chimneys to wind loads. The classical lamination theory is used to substitute the angle-ply laminate of a FRP chimney with an equivalent orthotropic material that provides the same stiffness. Dynamic wind loads are applied to the equivalent chimney to evaluate its response to both along and across wind loads. A parametric study is then conducted to identify the material and geometric parameters affecting the response of FRP chimneys to wind loads. Unlike the across-wind response, the along-wind tip deflection is found to be highly dependent on the angle of orientation of the fibers. In general, the analysis shows that FRP chimneys are very vulnerable to across-wind oscillations resulting from the vortex shedding phenomenon.