Reinforced Concrete Column-Supported Hyperboloid Cooling Tower Stability Assessment for Seismic Loads

In recent years, the use of larger Reinforced Concrete (R.C.) column-supported hyperboloid cooling towers has been increased significantly. Thus, the investigation on failure criteria for structural components of such structures under different loads has been found as an essential need. Construction of cooling towers in seismic zones initiated the study on the dynamic behavior of such structures due to seismic loads. In this paper, finite element analyses have been performed to obtain the stress concentration, nonlinear behavior, stability or safety factor of the R.C. tower due to earthquake loads. Outcomes of the study show that considerable plastic hinges were created in the X shape long columns of the R.C. hyperboloid cooling tower due to seismic loads, which resulted in a significant decrease in the stability safety factor and, thus, an increase in concerns.