Wind-induced responses of super-large cooling towers

Traditional gust load factor(GLF)method,inertial wind load(IWL)method and tri-component method(LRC+IWL)cannot accurately analyze the wind-induced responses of super-large cooling towers,so the real combination formulas of fluctuating wind-induced responses and equivalent static wind loads(ESWLSs)were derived based on structural dynamics and random vibration theory.The consistent coupled method(CCM)was presented to compensate the coupled term between background and resonant response.Taking the super-large cooling tower(H=215 m)of nuclear power plant in Jiangxi Province,China,which is the highest and largest in China,as the example,based on modified equivalent beam-net design method,the aero-elastic model for simultaneous pressure and vibration measurement of super-large cooling tower is firstly carried out.Then,combining wind tunnel test and CCM,the effects of self-excited force on the surface pressures and wind-induced responses are discussed,and the wind-induced response characteristics of background component,resonant component,coupled term between background and resonant response,fluctuating responses,and wind vibration coefficients are discussed.It can be concluded that wind-induced response mechanism must be understood to direct the wind resistant design for super-large cooling towers.

Software Practicalization for Analysis of Wind-Induced Vibrations of Large Span Roof Structures

Wind loads are key considerations in the structural design of large-span structures since wind loads can be more important than earthquake loads, especially for large flexible structures. The analysis of wind loads on large span roof structures (LSRS) requires large amounts of calculations. Due to the com- bined effects of horizontal and vertical winds, the wind-induced vibrations of LSRS are analyzed in this pa- per with the frequency domain method as the first application of method for the analysis of the wind re- sponse of LSRS. A program is developed to analyze the wind-induced vibrations due to a combination of wind vibration modes. The program, which predicts the wind vibration coefficient and the wind pressure act- ing on the LSRS, interfaces with other finite element software to facilitate analysis of wind loads in the de- sign of LSRS. The effectiveness and accuracy of the frequency domain method have been verified by nu- merical analyses of practical projects.