Vortex excitation: Three design rules tested on 13 industrial chimneys

The design rules for cross-wind vibrations given by DIN 4133 and the CICIND model code can give results that differ a factor 6 or more. Still, both design rules are included in the Eurocode. In this paper we apply a model closely related to the Vickery–Basu model, of which the CICIND model code and several other Codes of Practice are simplified derivates, to 13 industrial steel chimneys of which the operational history is known in some detail. The results are much more reliable than either DIN 4133 or the CICIND model code. The dominant parameter is the influence of turbulence on the aerodynamic damping parameter. This site specific parameter is neglected or too strongly simplified in all current Codes of Practice.