The Challenge
Constructing a massive 275-meter-high concrete chimney at the 1,200MW ultra-supercritical coal-fired Matarbari power plant in Maheshkhali Upazila of Cox’s Bazar District, southeastern Bangladesh, presented significant challenges:
- Environmental Factors: Matarbari faces frequent natural disasters such as cyclones, storm surges, waterlogging, and erosion. The area often experiences wind speeds reaching up to 300 km/h. This demanded resilient structural designs to withstand intense wind forces on the wider surface area, significantly larger than similar structures.
- Complex Construction: With a bottom diameter of 32 meters, the chimney required advanced engineering techniques for its foundation, concrete shell, and heavy
lifting operations, particularly for the installation of a tuned mass damper. - Technical Specificities: The project involved integrating borosilicate internal protection on the liners; along with access lifts, electrical systems, and lightning protection.
The Solution
FERBECK INTERNATIONAL SA was awarded the EPC (engineering, procurement, construction) contract and implemented innovative strategies and technologies:
- Tuned Mass Damper (TMD): Integrated into the chimney design to mitigate the effects of strong winds, ensuring structural stability. The damper absorbs and dissipates vibrational energy, enhancing stability. While the use of TMD in steel stacks is common, this applications on concrete chimneys is rare worldwide.
- Continuous Slipform Technology: Advanced slipform technology was utilized for 24/7 casting, ensuring efficient and continuous construction of the chimney’s towering structure. This technology allowed for smooth and uninterrupted construction, crucial for maintaining the integrity and stability of such a large structure.
- High Quality Materials: Incorporated borosilicate anti-acid protection (Pennguard) in the two steel liners, enhancing their durability and longevity.
- Heavy Lifting System: Utilized specialized hydraulic jack strands for efficient and secure lifting operations of heavy components such as the tuned mass damper, platforms, liners, and stairs to precise heights. This system ensured cost-effective handling of loads exceeding traditional crane capacities.
- Advanced Engineering: Designed and implemented the entire chimney structure, including the windshield, steel platforms, walkways, liners, electrical system, earthing, elevators, and other auxiliary items. The large scale of the project required precise engineering and coordination.
