Safety Analysis of a Historical Structure:  Turner Valley Gas Plant - Absorption Building

Burzic, Emina

Safety Analysis of a Historical Structure: Turner Valley Gas Plant - Absorption Building

dc.contributor.advisor	Duncan, Neil Alexander
dc.contributor.advisor	Shrive, Nigel Graham
dc.contributor.author	Burzic, Emina
dc.contributor.committeemember	Sudak, Leszek Jozef
dc.contributor.committeemember	Wong, Ron Chik-Kwong
dc.date	2023-11
dc.date.accessioned	2023-06-05T17:21:27Z
dc.date.available	2023-06-05T17:21:27Z
dc.date.issued	2023-06-01
dc.description.abstract	Canada is beginning to shift towards the reuse of existing structures to reduce environmental impacts [5]. This shift has created a new culture of structural conservation and the need for engineers to understand the procedure of structural assessment of existing buildings. Historical structures are a specific niche of existing structures that require a closer assessment. Many historic structures in Canada are deemed unsafe and are closed or of limited access to the public. An “unsafe” steel and concrete heritage building rebuilt between 1929 and 1933, known as the absorption building, has been analysed structurally with respect to the National Building Code of Canada (NBCC) and the Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places (SGCHP) [7] [4]. The building is located at the Turner Valley Gas Plant (TVGP) National Historic site [8]. The TVGP was Alberta’s first natural gas plant built and thus the birthplace of the energy sector in Western Canada [8]. Throughout the building lifespan the structural skeleton has been adapted to accommodate changes in the oil and gas processing. The load path, effects of modified and missing members, and capacity of elements were assessed. Due to a lack of historical records and the building designation, Non-destructive and Minor destructive testing methods were used to determine building geometric and material properties. Five finite element models were developed to conduct a linear-elastic analysis of the buildings structural integrity. A load test was performed to validate the models. Results confirmed the load path and the effects of modifying members as an initial assessment towards a complete safety analysis. Based on the NBCC if the past performance of the structure is considered insufficient and a structural analysis is conducted the results show plastic hinges will begin to form in the roof of the structure due to the applied loads. The research exposed gaps within current NBCC and SGCHP guidelines. Technical testing and clarification on the potential interpretations of the NBCC and SGCHP are recommended additions based on the research conducted. As standards are developed the research provided can guide future engineers on conducting a structural safety analysis of heritage structures.
dc.identifier.citation	Burzic, E. (2023). Safety analysis of a historical structure: Turner Valley Gas Plant - absorption building (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/1880/116598
dc.identifier.uri	https://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/41441
dc.language.iso	en
dc.publisher.faculty	Schulich School of Engineering
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary
dc.rights	University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subject	Structural Analysis
dc.subject	Historical Structures
dc.subject	Finite Element Modelling
dc.subject	Heritage Conservation
dc.subject	Non-destructive Testing
dc.subject	Minor destructive Testing
dc.subject	Canadian oil & gas history
dc.subject	Safety Analysis
dc.subject	Laser Scanning
dc.subject	National Building Code of Canada
dc.subject.classification	Engineering--Civil
dc.subject.classification	Materials Science
dc.subject.classification	History of Science
dc.title	Safety Analysis of a Historical Structure: Turner Valley Gas Plant - Absorption Building
dc.type	master thesis
thesis.degree.discipline	Engineering – Civil
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Calgary
thesis.degree.name	Master of Science (MSc)
ucalgary.thesis.accesssetbystudent	I do not require a thesis withhold – my thesis will have open access and can be viewed and downloaded publicly as soon as possible.