Dynamic responses of industrial reinforced concrete chimneys strengthened with fiber-reinforced polymers

Industrial reinforced concrete (RC) chimneys are tall and slender structures that need repair and strengthening in their service lives. Fiber-reinforced polymers (FRPs) are continuously becoming a popular material that is used for strengthening purposes of RC structures. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of FRP strengthening on dynamic responses of industrial RC chimneys. A 75-m-high industrial RC chimney with an opening on the body was selected for FRP strengthening. First, three-dimensional finite element model of the chimney and its modal analyses were performed in ANSYS software. Then, linear transient analyses of the chimney were carried out by using 1992 Erzincan Earthquake ground motion record. After that, body of chimney was strengthened with FRP composite, and dynamic analyses were performed. Finally, dynamic responses of chimney before and after FRP strengthening, such as displacements and maximum-minimum principal stresses, were compared. At the end of the study, it was seen that displacements increased along the height of the chimney, maximum and minimum principal stresses occurred at the region of opening and base for all analysis, respectively. Also, it was seen from this study that FRP strengthening is effective on the dynamic response of industrial RC chimneys. Copyright (c) 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.