Title: Refurbishment of a Cooling Tower in Opole, Poland

Author(s): Reinhard Martin

Publication: Symposium Paper

Volume: 326

Issue:

Appears on pages(s): 96.1-96.8

Keywords: assessment, cooling tower, concrete repair, frost damages, inspection, surface protection

DOI: 10.14359/51711079

Date: 8/10/2018

Abstract:
This paper reviews the background, inspection and refurbishment of a hyperbolic cooling tower located at the Opole Power Station in Poland. The cooling tower is 132 m high with a base diameter 100,00 m. It was erected in 1977-1982. On the inner surface of the RC shell serious damage to the concrete and protective coating occurred as a result of an unexpected shut-down of the unit at low ambient temperature in winter 2010. It manifested itself by spalling, loss of the concrete, corrosion of the reinforcement and deterioration of the protective coating. For this reason, the tower was subjected to the detailed inspection and technical assessment in 2013 which resulted in required repair and protection of the RC shell of the cooling tower. General view of the concrete shell and columns of the cooling tower is displayed in Fig.1.