Comparison of comprehensive stress performances of super-large cooling tower in different four-tower arrangements under 3D asymmetric wind loads

Different four-tower arrangements have a great impact on wind-induced response and stability performance of super-large cooling tower. However, a single indicator (eg., interference factor of overall wind load) cannot provide a comprehensive and objective evaluation of wind-resistance safety of cooling tower. Here five typical four-tower arrangements in engineering practice were experimented, namely, row, rectangular, rhombic, L-shape, and oblique L-shape arrangement. Wind tunnel tests for rigid body were performed to determine the wind loads distribution pattern on the surface of group tower under different four-tower arrangements. Finite element method was employed to analyze the internal force and deformation distributions under the design wind load of return period. The influence of different four-tower arrangements on wind load-induced response was discussed under different incoming wind angles. Then the local stability and overall buckling stability of the cooling tower were estimated, and the ultimate bearing capacities under different four-tower arrangements were compared considering geometric nonlinearity. Instead of using a uniform structural design standard for cooling towers group, the influence rule of different arrangements on wind-induced response and safety performance of the cooling tower group was summarized.