Structural Performance Evaluation of Reinforced Concrete Anaerobic Digester Tank in Sewage Treatment Plant: Investigational and Theoretical Study

Abstract

The aim of this study is to evaluate the structural performance of digester tanks structure in Al-Jazeera sewage treatment plant within Dhi Qar province in the south of Iraq by adopting the experimental field tests and finite element analysis. Due to the significance of anaerobic digester structure, it is necessary to evaluate structural performance on a regular basis using damage inspection techniques and non-destructive tests, depending on the construction materials used to construct the structure of the digester tanks. The surface of the reinforced concrete walls of the digester tanks had numerous small cracks, and some compressive strength readings were lower than the design value, showing that there was a reduction in the safety factor of the structure, necessitating the application of modified action to enhance the structural performance of the digester tanks structures rather than the project's designer providing more safety factor. To increase the safety factor and structural performance of digester tanks, this study recommends utilizing a strengthening strategy that comprises building an additional reinforced concrete circle ring on the external walls of tanks in the top, middle, and bottom locations.