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Earthquake damage to chimneys at Taichung power Station, Taiwan 1999

Hung-en L., Ming-chin C.

CICIND REPORT Vol. 16, No. 2, 2000

Order No: CR-204


The earthquake in Taiwan during 1999 was their largest of the century, with a magnitude of 7.3.  This paper details a survey of damage to the stay rods and steel liners of the 250m high Taichung chimneys.  It concludes that the dynamic interaction between liner and shell is an important factor in its behaviour under such extreme loading.  Design methods should take account of the possibility that stay rods and other shell supports may be damaged during an earthquake so that the normal assumption of working lateral restraint does not apply.  Normally it is assumed that any such damage can be repaired before a major problem occurs.