Construction Simulation and Construction Speed Analysis of Natural Draft Cooling Towers

摘要

Using the finite element code ABAQUS and taking account of the wind load reduction, this paper presents a set of construction simulation methods of concrete cooling towers. A natural draft cooling tower at Taishan nuclear power station in Guangdong province, China, under three speeds of construction is simulated. Displacement and stress distributions of the cooling tower in the different construction stages are obtained. Some interested parts of the cooling tower are analyzed in detail and the variations of displacements and stresses of these parts with the construction are concluded. A comparative study of the influence of construction speed on displacements and stresses is performed as well. The analyses and proposals of this paper may be used as reference to the cooling tower design and construction.