508

International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering

ISSN 0974-5904, Volume 04, No 06 SPL, October 2011, pp. 508-511

Wind and Earthquake Analysis of Tall RC Chimneys

K. R. C. Reddy
Associate Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, KITS Ramtek-441106, Dist. Nagpur, (M.S.)
E-mail: krcreddy22@rediffmail.com

O. R. Jaiswal
Professor, Department of Applied Mechanics, VNIT Nagpur (M.S.)

P. N. Godbole
Emeritus Professor, Department of Applied Mechanics, VNIT Nagpur (M.S.)

ABSTRACT: Chimneys are normally designed for critical loads produced by earthquake or wind. It is necessary to
analyse the dynamic response of chimney due to influence of earthquake and wind loads. Chimney being tall and
flexible structure, it is expected that wind loads will be more critical than earthquake loads. In this paper, two RC
chimneys are analysed for earthquake and wind loads. Earthquake analysis is done as per IS 1893 (Part 4): 20052 and
wind analysis is performed as per IS 4998 (Part 1): 19921. This paper presents the comparison of wind loads with that of
earthquake loads to decide the most critical loads for the design of the chimney shell. The design wind load is obtained
by combination of along and across-wind response of the chimney. The combination is performed as per the procedure
given in ACI 307-98 code3. It is seen that, the earthquake forces acting on the chimney in zone V are closely matching
with wind loads in a zone whose basic wind speed is 44 m/s.
KEYWORDS: RC chimneys, earthquake loads, wind loads, combined design loads, zone factor.
INTRODUCTION
Tall RC chimneys are commonly used to discharge
pollutants at higher elevation. The enforcement of stricter
air-pollution control standards has led to the construction of
increasingly tall RC chimneys worldwide. Further due to the
availability of advanced construction materials chimney
shell is being made with thinner wall. As a result, chimneys
have become more slender and sensitive to wind-induced
vibrations. The cross-section of the chimney is generally
hollow circular, from aerodynamic considerations, and
tapered, from considerations of structural economy and
aesthetics. The chimney is subject to gust buffeting in the
along-wind direction due to drag forces, and also to possible
vortex shedding in the across-wind direction. In the typical
case of slender, tapered RC chimneys, it is the along-wind
response which generally predominates and governs the
design.
Tall reinforced concrete (RC) chimneys form an important
component of major industries and power plants. Damage
to chimney due to wind or earthquake load may lead to shut
down of power plants and important industries. However, if
chimney is located in higher seismic zone and lower wind
speed zone, then, earthquake forces may become
comparable, if not more, than the wind loads.
In fact, the chimney is designed for the combined effect of
along-wind and across-wind loads. In the literature, various
approaches to combine along-wind and across-wind loads
are mentioned. In this paper a method given by ACI 307
code is being used to obtain the combined design loads.
Earlier many researchers4,6,7 have shown the results of
earthquake analysis using the simplified procedures given in
the codes. The objective of this paper is to analyze the
chimneys for design wind loads and earthquake loads and
compare them to decide the most critical loads for the design
of chimney shell.

WIND ANALYSIS
Wind load on structures, depends on gustiness of wind,
topography of terrain and also on the interaction of
wind with structures. Dynamic wind loads induces
along-wind loads and across-wind loads on tall
chimneys. Here the random response method is used
for the analysis as given in IS 4998:1992.
Along-wind analysis
The along wind load per unit height at any height z on
a chimney is given by

Fz = Fzm + Fzf

(1)

Where, Fzm is the wind load in N/m height due to

HMW at height z and Fzf is the wind load in N /m
height due to the fluctuating component of wind at
height z.

Fzm = Pz C D d z

(2)

F zf = 3 .( G 1) / h 2 .( z / h ) F zm . z .d z

(3)

where G is the gust factor, h is the height of the

chimney

G = 1+ g f r

{B + S E }

#020410311 Copyright 2011 CAFET-INNOVA TECHNICAL SOCIETY. All rights reserved

(4)

Wind and Earthquake Analysis of Tall Rc Chimneys

Across-wind analysis
The across-wind response of chimney occurs mainly due to
vortex shedding and velocity dependent forces. Acrosswind analysis of chimney is required only if the critical wind
speeds for any mode of oscillation is less than the mean
design wind speed. The critical wind speed Vcri, for vortex
shedding in the ith mode of vibration is given by

Vcri =

fi d
Sn

(5)

The sectional shear force ( Fz 0i ) and the bending moment

( M z 0i ) at any height z0, for the ith mode of vibration is given
by
h

Fz0i = 4 2 f i oi m z zi dz
2

(6)

509

where, CT is the coefficient depending upon the

slenderness ratio of the structure, Wt is the total weight
of the structure including weight of lining and contents
above the base, h is the height of structure above the
base, E s is the modulus of elasticity of material of the
structural shell, A is the area of cross-section at the
base of the structural shell.
For circular sections, A = 2 r t, where r is the mean
radius of structural shell and t its thickness, and g is the
acceleration due to gravity. The damping factor
considered for the reinforced concrete material is 3
percent of critical value for design basis earthquake. In
this case, the material damping factor of 0.048 is
considered for determining Sa/g. Using the period T,
the horizontal seismic coefficient Ah shall be obtained
from the spectrum given in IS 1983 (Part 1). The
design horizontal seismic coefficient for Ah design
basis earthquake shall be determined by the following
expression

z0

M z0i = 4 f i oi m z zi ( z z 0 ) dz
2

(7)

z0

Calculation of across wind load is made by first calculating

the peak tip deflection for the specified mode of vibration.
For Chimney with Little or No Taper {d(h)/d(0) > 0.5}, the
model response, at a critical wind speed shall be calculated
by

oi =

2
1.25C L d hi a d { (L ) / 2(I + 2)}
mei
2Sn2

1 h 2
zi dz
h 0

( k

2
a a d / m ei )

(8)
where, mei = equivalent mass per unit length in kg/m in the

ith mode of vibration.

h

mei = m z zi dz
2

2
zi

dz

(9)

EARTHQUAKE ANALYSIS
The earthquake loads are obtained as per IS 1893 (part 4):
2005. Time period of vibration, T of chimneys when fixed at
base is given by,

T = CT

Wt .h
E 2. A.g

(10)

Ah =

(Z 2 )(S a g )
(R I )

(11)

where, Z is the zone factor This is in accordance with

Table 2 of IS 1893 (Part 1), I is the importance factor,
R is the response reduction factor.
The ratio (R/I) shall not be less than1.0. Sa/g is the
spectral acceleration coefficient in accordance with IS
1893 (Part 1). The horizontal earthquake force shall be
assumed to act alone in one lateral direction at a time.
The effects due to vertical component of earthquakes
are generally small and can be ignored. The effect of
earthquake and maximum wind on the structure shall
not be considered simultaneously.
Design shear force and moment
The simplified method can be used for ordinary stacklike structures. The design shear force, V, and design
bending moment, M, for such structures at a distance x
from the top, shall be calculated by the following
formulae,

V = C v . Ah .Wt .Dv

(12)

M = Ah .Wt .h.Dm

(13)

where, Cv is the coefficient of shear force depending

on slenderness ratio k, Ah is the design horizontal
seismic coefficient, Wt is the total weight of structure
including weight of lining and contents above the base,
h is the height of centre of gravity of structure above
base, and
Dv, Dm are the distribution factors for shear and
moment respectively at a distance x from the top of
chimney. The expressions for these distributions for
moment and shear along the height are given in Table
11 of code for use in computer programme.

International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering

ISSN 0974-5904, Volume 04, No 06 SPL, October 2011, pp. 508-511

510

K. R. C. Reddy, O. R. Jaiswal, P. N. Godbole

EXAMPLE CHIMNEYS
Two chimneys are considered for the analysis purpose. The
217 m chimney as shown in Figure 1(a) consists of four
tapers and twenty one platforms. The platform details are
also shown in Figure 1(a). Where as the 220 m chimney as
shown in Figure 1(b) is of uniform taper whose outer
diameter and shell thickness at the top and bottom are
shown.
Modeling
For the analysis purpose Chimneys are modeled as vertical
cantilever fixed at the base having varying cross sections
using beam element (NKTP 12) of NISA (EMRC, 1998).
Chimneys are divided into elements of one meter length
along its height. The mass of each section is calculated by
averaging the mass of above and below it. Chimney is
idealized as mdf system with mass lumped at various levels.
Horizontal motion is considered. Natural frequency and
mode shapes required for the analysis are obtained from this
finite element model of chimney.
Material
The material used for chimney shell is M25 grade concrete
whose mass density () considered as 2.5 t/m3, weight
density as 25 KN / m3, Youngs modulus (E) as 3.2 x 107
kN/m2 and structural damping as a fraction of critical
damping () is considered as 0.016. Free vibration
characteristics such as natural frequency and time periods
are obtained from the dynamic analysis of chimneys and
shown in Table 1. Then critical wind speeds and mean
design wind speeds are calculated and presented in Table 2.

(a) 217 m chimney

Table 1: Free vibration characteristics of chimneys

Chim.
Ht.
(m)
217
220

Natural Frequency
(Hz)
1st
2nd
3rd
mode mode mode
0.33
1.39
3.44
0.44
1.86
4.53

Time period
(sec.)
1st
2nd
3rd
mode mode mode
2.98
0.72
0.29
2.23
0.53
0.22

The critical wind velocity and the design wind velocity are
calculated by taking Vb = 44 m/s , k1 = 1.07 , k3 = 1.00, sn =
0.2 and d = average diameter over the top 1/3 height of
chimney

Table 2: Critical wind speeds (Vcri.=fd/sn)

and mean design wind speed(Vzbar)
d
Critical Wind Velocity,
Chi
Vzbar
(m)
Vcri =fd/sn (m/s)
ht.
=Vbk1k2b
(m)
2nd
1st
3rd
ark3
m/s
mode mode mode
217
14.7
24.7 102.5 253.9
46.35
220
15.6
34.9 145.5 354.6
46.45

(b) 220 m chimney

Figure 1: Example chimneys
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The numeric results of along- and across-wind analysis
and earthquake analysis are obtained as per the
procedure given above for the both the chimneys.

International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering

ISSN 0974-5904, Volume 04, No 06 SPL, October 2011, pp. 508-511

Wind and Earthquake Analysis of Tall Rc Chimneys

Along-wind analysis
The along-wind analysis of chimney is performed using
Random Response Method of IS: 4998 (Part-1)1992.
Maximum shear force and bending moment for both the
chimneys have been calculated with various options using
random response method and the results are given in Table
3.
Across-wind analysis
In across-wind analysis, those modes for which critical wind
speed less than mean design wind speed are to be
considered. It is fond that the critical wind speed of only
first mode is less than the mean design wind speed, hence
only the first mode has been considered in the across-wind
analysis. Maximum shear force and bending moment
computed by random response method of IS: 4998 and the
results are presented in Table 3.
Table 3: Results of wind analysis
SF
Chimney
kN
Height
(m)
Along Across Combined
217
1512
2239
2701
220
3410
5654
6654
Chimney
BM
Height
kNm
(m)
Along Across Combined
217
196822 348462
400205
220
454434 832453
948413

511

On studying the results presented in the above tables, it

shows that as the zone factor increases the values of
shear force and bending moment increases. It is
mentioned that the response reduction factor of 3.0 is
sufficient for estimating the earthquake loads but the
results becoming double if the R equal to 1.5. The
results obtained with R equal to 1.5 and with zone
factor of 0.36 are almost matching with that of the
wind loads.
CONCLUSIONS
On comparison of the wind loads with that of the
earthquake loads, the following conclusions are drown,

The wind loads are always governing the design of

chimney shell.

In the most critical earthquake zone with zone

factor of 0.36 and response reduction factor of 1.5,
the earthquake response is almost matching with
that of wind response but never been crossing the
wind response.

For the design of the chimney shell, the combined

design wind loads are used.
REFERENCES
[1] ACI 307:1998,Standard practice for design and
construction of RC chimneys(ACI

307-98) and

commentary(ACI 307R-98),American Concrete

Earthquake analysis
To obtain the earthquake loads, the time period is calculated
using the Equation 10. Knowing the time period of chimneys
the horizontal seismic coefficients are calculated as per the
Equation 11. Then the design shear force and bending
moments are evaluated by Equations 12 and 13 respectively.
The results are obtained for different response reduction
factors with R equal to 3.0 and 1.5 and also various values of
zone factors. The design shear force and the bending
moment of 217 m chimney are presented in Table 4 and that
of 220 m chimney is given in Table 5.
Table 4: Earthquake analysis results of 217 m chimney
Sr. Zone Zone
R=3.0
R=1.5
no. No. factor
SF
BM
SF
BM
kN
kNm
kN
kNm
1
II
0.10
454
74222
909 148443
2
III
0.16
727 118754 1456 237509
3
IV
0.24 1091 178131 2184 356263
4
V
0.36 1637 267198 3276 356264
Table 5: Earthquake analysis results220 m chimney
Sr. Zone Zone
R=3.0
R=1.5
no. No. factor
SF
BM
SF
BM
kN
kNm
kN
kNm
1
II
0.10
522
87238 1045 174476
2
III
0.16
836 139581 1672 279162
3
IV
0.24 1254 209371 2508 418743
4
V
0.36 1881 314057 3762 628115

Institute, Detroit
[2] IS 4998(part-1):1992, Criteria for Design of
Reinforced Concrete Chimneys, 2nd revision,
Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi.
[3] IS 1893 (Part 4):2005, Criteria for earthquake
resistant design of structures, Bureau of Indian
Standards, New Delhi.
[4] Jain, S.K., Singh, B.P., Guptha, B.K., 1990, I.S.
code provisions for seismic design of tall
chimneys, International of structures, Vol. 10,
No. 2, pp 103-111
[5] Jaiswal, O.R., Srinivas, V., 2005, Effect of tuned
mass damper on across-wind response of tall RC
Chimneys, Journal of Wind & Engineering, India,
vol.2, No.1, pp.9-21
[6] Shivaji, M., Raju, V.S.N., Dynamic analysis of
R.C.C. chimneys

International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering

ISSN 0974-5904, Volume 04, No 06 SPL, October 2011, pp. 508-511