Condition monitoring of 40 year old cooling towers

摘要

Babtie Group is responsible for the monitoring of 27 cooling towers at various stations in the UK, constructed between approximately 1957 and 1970. This work has involved the use of theodolite surveys to measure deformed shape and the location of cracks/defects from the ground. Where cracks have occurred the crack width has been measured remotely, also from the ground. The paper discusses the techniques used to survey the towers. It then describes the defects observed, and the trends in the data. Some remedial work has been required to the cooling towers necessitating steeplejack access. This has given the opportunity to compare the observations from the ground with measurements made with hands on access; the results of which are described in the paper.