Field observation of damage on several old cooling towers poses the problem of their aging process. This latter may be a phenomenon linked not only with the deterioration of reinforced concrete as material, but also with possibility of buckling. The present study is an attempt to analyse and to interpret observed in-situ deterioration by means of parametric digital calculations, using experimental results obtained in laboratory. The origin of the observed deformed shapes of the cooling towers that were analyzed is then identified. This analysis emphasizes the predominant role played by self-weight in the mechanical behavior of the cooling towers. Self-weight is the cause of the multimodal deformed shapes observed which were initiated during the construction phase. These same deformed shapes encourage cracking by initiation of a significant degree of local bending, particularly in the circumferential direction which causes meridional cracking; a phenomenon which has been corroborated by in-situ observation.
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