An Evaluation of a Simplified Analysis Model for the Earthquake Response of a Coal Fired Boiler and its Steel Support Structure

Abstract eng:
The seismic behavior of a heavy industrial boiler system built in Chile is studied considering pushover analysis method and time-history analysis. The aim is to identify under which circumstances the seismic design obtained is satisfactory when the design procedures used normally for this type of structures are applied. Results of response spectrum analysis (RSA) and pushover analysis (PA) match for small lateral displacements. However, the element forces distributions do not have a good correlation with the prediction made by RSA when lateral displacements are larger and inelastic behavior in the main elements occurs in PA. The final design of the steel support structure for the boiler shows what can be considered a satisfactory design due to a rather large over-strength level, which allows matching the general criteria of the Chilean design code for industrial buildings to prevent excessive damage and limit shutdown time. Given the differences observed in the response results between RSA and PA and also the low correlation between usage ratios in element design (based on the RSA results) and the actual ductility ratios obtained in the PA results it becomes clear that it is necessary that the design of this type of structure is based in procedures that can estimate actual behavior in the inelastic range with greater accuracy. This will allow obtaining a more economic and efficient design of elements avoiding the use of large over-strength factors in all structural elements.

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