Scientific and technical support for the construction of a gas cleaning extraction tower

Introduction. The article presents data on scientific and technical support (STS) for the manufacture and installation of the above-ground part of a 150 m high extraction tower, which is a supporting structure for gas cleaning at a sintering plant in Novokuznetsk. STS and monitoring were carried out by employees of the Research Institute of Building Constructions named after V.A. Koucherenko from January 2024 to May 2025. The most stressed elements of the structure, located at elevations +1.700 and +17.000, were equipped with mechanical strain gauges and devices; their readings provided an overview of the stress state of the entire structure. In addition, geodetic data on the strain state of the structure acquired during construction and provided by the Customer were analyzed.

Aim. To perform scientific and technical support and monitoring using a method developed by the Research Institute of Building Constructions named after V.A. Koucherenko for observing the condition of individual structures and critical components of the tower, supporting structures of the sinter plant gas cleaning system, and for preventing collisions during enlargement.

Materials and methods. Metal structures were manufactured using non-destructive testing methods including visual inspection, ultrasonic testing, and capillary (color) flaw detection. The cross-sections of the tower elements are round electric-welded straight-seam pipes C355 (State Standard 27772-2021) of various diameters, welded flanges made of thick-sheet steel C390 (State Standard 27772-2021), and mounting nodes on bolted joints.

Results. The monitoring of the tower supporting the steel structures of the gas cleaning elements at the EVRAZ metallurgical plant, carried out during the STS manufacturing and installation process, ensures the mechanical safety of the structure by controlling the stresses in the most loaded structural elements and by analyzing their movements and deformations.

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