Challenge:
Our client required a structural analysisof a new air-cooled heat exchanger assembly to be installed in Peru. The purpose of the assessment was to investigate whether the current design of the steel structure met the structural code requirements when resisting wind and seismic loads.
Resolution:
A series of hand calculations were used with the assistance of a computer model to evaluate the structural members and the connections when resisting the applied lateral loads per the applicable code. The evaluation was based on the Peruvian Regulations for lateral-load resisting design. This required the critical portions of the document to be translated from Spanish to English. All structural components were evaluated and the heat exchanger was deemed adequate for the design load conditions.
