07-16: Etiwanda Cooling Towers, Repair or Replace

This paper discusses the structural problems and structural failures associated with the 43 year old cooling towers located at Reliant Energies' Etiwanda Power Plant located in Rancho Cucamonga, California. It describes the decision analysis procedure used to determine if the cooling towers should be repaired or replaced with new cooling towers. It also describes the necessary modifications required to improve the soundness and reliability of the structure.