Structural Stability Condition Assessment of Corroded Steel Trusses in Operating Industrial Facilities

Industrial facilities in the United States are typically of conventional steel construction, but often times operate with caustic or high internal humidity environments. As these structures approach and exceed their typical 50 year design life, the long span roof trusses that comprise part of the roofing system are beginning to show severe corrosion. This corrosion causes a loss of cross-sectional area in the truss chord and web members, and affects the integrity of truss internal connections, as well as bracing member connections. Faced with these degraded structural conditions, owners must decide whether to continue operations and face a potential catastrophic failure of one or more roof trusses, or shutdown plant operations to repair or replace any highly corroded trusses. This paper will address the unique structural stability aspects of these corroded trusses, and offer suggestions for reinforcing or adding additional braces to continue operations. Parametric buckling analyses using modern stability methods are used to evaluate a range of different truss conditions.

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