Thermal analysis of FRP chimneys using consistent laminated shell element

Due to their high corrosion and chemical resistance, fiber reinforced plast ic (FRP) materials are increasingly being used in the construction of indus trial chimneys. The design of a chimney is governed by wind loads as well a s thermal loads resulting from the differences among the ambient, the opera ting and the curing temperatures. This study involves an investigation for the thermal stresses induced in angle-ply laminated FRP chimneys, using an in-house developed laminated shell element model. The finite element model is verified by performing thermal analysis of a number of plate and shell p roblems and comparing the results to those available in the literature. An extensive parametric study is then conducted using the shell element model to identify the parameters which significantly affect thermal stresses indu ced in FRP chimneys. The study indicates that the thermal stresses are only affected by the incl ination of the lamina plies, the percentage of fibers content and the throu gh thickness temperature distribution. Analyses also show that localized cr acks in the direction perpendicular to the fibers are expected to occur due to the thermal loads. Finally, thermal stress values that can be used in t he design of FRP chimneys, when cracking is considered, are presented as fu nction of the through thickness temperature distributions. (C) 2000 Elsevie r Science Ltd. All rights reserved.