Safety assessment of steel framework of a utility boiler

KEYWORD: safety assessment, steel framework, finite element analysis, seismic loads. ABSTRACT: The steel framework of a utility boiler was an important structure sustained loads, and its strength and stiffness were primary factors in structural design. Stiffness was assessed by measuring perpendicularity of pillars. For this steel framewok seismic loads was significant to the entire strength. In order to refer to the influence of seismic loads, finite element method was adopted to analyze the strength of the whole steel framework. According to the results of finite element analysis, the maximum equivalent stress was 102.9MPa, which could satisfy the strength requirement. It indicated that this steel framework could satisfy the requirement of practical working conditions.