Investigations of dynamic characteristics of a tall industrial chimney due to light wind and solar radiation

The present paper describes field tests conducted on the 300 m tall industrial chimney, located in the power station of Bełchatów (Poland), where the GPS rover receivers were installed at three various levels. The objectives of these GPS tests were to investigate the deformed vertical profile of this chimney, and its dynamic characteristics, i.e. the first natural frequency and the modal damping ratios. The results for the satellite signal receptions, the synopsis of recorded baselines and their ambiguity solutions, drifts of the chimney due to solar radiation and air temperature variations and dynamic wind response characteristics are presented.