A Case Study Considering a 3-D Pushover Analysis Procedure

Abstract eng:
This paper concerns a unique failure during the 1999 Kocaeli, Turkey earthquake. With an unusually large rectangular duct opening located about 1/3 of the height above the base, a 115 meter high reinforced concrete chimney collapsed during the earthquake while several other similar structures survived with only moderate damage. Debris of the failed stack cut many lines, which fueled fires that shut down the refinery for months. This case study provides intriguing results, considering that the stack was designed and constructed according to international standards and is representative of similar structures at refineries throughout the world. The main focus of the investigation is the dynamic response of the stack due to an earthquake motion recorded at a nearby site, named the YPT record. A new 3-D pushover analysis procedure is proposed in this paper and the results will be compared with those of a nonlinear dynamic analysis. Higher mode effects are significant for this type of structure and considered in the proposed 3-D pushover analysis procedure. Results are presented that show the importance of the 3-D interaction effects in the dynamic response of the stack. The results also confirm that the stack could readily fail under the considered earthquake and are consistent with the debris pattern.

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