C3 Specialists Structural and Forensic Engineering Consultants for Power Stations, Chimneys and Cooling Towers

C3 Specialists is a leading engineering and consulting firm that specialises in the analysis and investigation of structures and the forensic engineering of all failures and defects. C3 Specialists has more than 50 years of collective experience in structural and forensic engineering.

Engineering, design and consulting services for concrete and steel structures

C3 Specialists is a leading provider of engineering, design and consulting services to the energy, fuel, steel and mining industry. We specialise in all concrete and steel structures, but our particular expertise is in chimneys, cooling towers, silos and bunkers, water and gas ducting, water retaining structures, machine bases, thermal structures, refractories, all general structures, turbine houses, boiler houses, and material handling structures.

Our services include designs, design reviews, inspections, investigations, life assessment, specifications, and project management and supervision.

Structural investigations for concrete and steel structures

C3 Specialists can carry out structural investigations of all concrete and steel structures, using the latest technology, diagnostic testing equipment and a systematic approach to solving problems. Our service includes:

• Testing
• Inspections
• Life assessments
• Designs
• Evaluation and prediction
• Reports and proposals
• Specifications
• Quality control

Forensic engineering services

Many of the failures we investigate are common structural problems. We have unmatched forensic experience in the investigation of a broad range of structures, including buildings; industrial facilities; steel, concrete, timber and composite structures; foundations; and roof structures. We offer comprehensive evaluations, including:

• State-of-the-art structural analyses
• Structural condition and damage assessment surveys
• Computer animate reconstruction
• Reliability and risk analyses
• Advanced theoretical and numerical modelling
• Due-diligence consulting
• Component or material testing

Structural analysis and evaluation services

We often execute projects that involve the evaluation of loads or stresses on a system or structure, from plain to complicated structures. We make extensive use of computers to perform structural analysis on all types of structures. Our services include:

• Finite element analysis
• Failure analysis and mode evaluation
• Fracture mechanics
• Material constitutive modelling, testing and evaluation
• Stress analysis
• Structural and thermal dynamic analysis
• Engineering design evaluation
• Structural integrity prediction
• Structure lifetime predictions
• Damage assessments
• Design reviews

Chimney flue inspection and retrofit

Flue inspections are done from inside the flue using our high-intensity infrared video camera system. The inspection is recorded on a VCR and digital recorder and the footage is used to generate the photographs for the report. Our services in the field of chimney flue inspection and retrofit include:

• Internal inspections
• Structure lifetime predictions
• Damage assessments
• Stress analysis
• Structural integrity prediction
• Structural and thermal dynamic analysis
• Remedial actions
• Material assessments
• Project management

Chimney and cooling tower design

C3 Specialists has in-house software programs to design chimneys and cooling towers according to the relevant national and international standards and code requirements. Our design capabilities for chimneys cover the complete design, including draft calculations, interspace ventilation calculations, supporting platform, brick and steel flue linings, and steel ducts.

Our design capabilities for cooling towers include the shell, external columns and internal support, foundation and water pond. For both chimneys and cooling towers we also provide independent design reviews, forensic investigations and analysis, inspections and investigations, and life expectancy studies. Project management services are also available.

Analysis and testing services for steel and concrete structures

Our in-depth knowledge of materials, combined with our wealth of experience in virtually every area of structural engineering, enables us to understand how and why materials fail during construction and in completed structures. We have a unique ability to provide advice on how to avoid problems early in the design cycle and during the life of a structure. Our analysis and testing services for steel and concrete structures include:

• Fracture mechanics analysis
• Non-destructive testing and evaluation
• Experimental stress analysis
• Laboratory testing
• Life assessments