TP26-15 Field Erected Stainless Steel Towers

Cooling towers rely on a robust open frame structure to support various internal 
systems and withstand a harsh operating environment.  The use of pultruded fiberglass 
profiles has been prevalent for over 40 years as an improvement over wooden 
structures and has become the status quo for most field erected towers.  While FRP 
meets many requirements it is not the only material choice that should be considered. The use of hollow profile square/rectangular stainless steel (SST) tubing offers 
advantages in several key areas when compared to FRP.  This paper shall present a 
comparison of these two materials.  The key focus areas will be strength, corrosion 
resistance, and several basic connection detail methods.  As cost is always strong 
consideration with stainless steel substantially more expensive than FRP on a unit 
weight basis this paper shall present insights as to how efficient use of stainless steel 
tubing can allow for a cost competitive alternative.   With recent ASCE code changes 
affecting the design and use of FRP this material choice may be an attractive solution 
for future field erected cooling towers.