Behavior of Industrial Chimneys Subjected to Dynamic Loading using ANSYS: A Parametric and Modal Response-based Approach

The industrial chimneys exist as slender reinforced concrete towers which must resist the wind forces, seismic activity, as well as sudden dynamic loads. The current design methods rely on simplified static approaches, or the equivalent dynamic procedures which lead to conservative designs that do not represent the actual structural response under the timebased loading conditions. The increasing height as well as flexibility of the industrial chimneys require the development of design procedures which directly evaluate the dynamic behavior as well as the material performance efficiency. The study develops the industrial chimney optimization framework which uses the ANSYS for the finite element-based analysis which applies the Genetic Algorithm to optimize the dynamic performance under the actual loading conditions. The researchers created the explicit model which includes the gravity forces, height dependent wind pressure, seismic time history excitation as well as the short duration gust impulses to achieve physical accuracy and reproducibility. The numerical results show that the optimized chimney achieved 18% reduction in the structural mass, 22.5 % reduction in the peak base stress, as well as 32 % decrease in the harmonic displacement when compared with the baseline design. Fundamental natural frequency increased from 0.82 Hz to 0.93 Hz which reduced the resonance susceptibility. The seismic time history analysis showed reduced base moments as well as the smoother displacement response which resulted from the improved stiffness distribution as well as damping effects. The key innovation of this research combines the transient loading assessment with the complete response evaluation as well as geometric optimization within one ANSYS based system which supports the industrial chimney structures that remain sensitive to the dynamic forces.