Ferrybridge Power Station
It was a windy day on 1.11.1965. In the morning, 3 of the 8 cooling towers at Ferrybridge Power Station (UK) collapsed. Later investigations showed that so-called vortex shedding induced loads (Karman vortex) behind four surviving towers generated much higher wind forces than typical for the area … and as a result the wind overloaded the 130mm thick walls of 3 towers, which then collapsed.
New designs of towers, circular tanks, masts etc. must take into account the effects of vortex resonance – for more information see Eurocode EN 1991-1-4 E.1.5.2.7.
Unfortunately, a lot of engineering is based on mistakes we have had to make. Fortunately, more and more of them can be overcome by using simulation tools such as Dlubal RWIND. #engineering #CFD #FEA
