• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.97-111
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• 2024

In this paper, buckling conditions and retrofitting of cylindrical steel water storage tanks with different roof types and wall thicknesses were investigated by using finite element method. Four roof types of cylindrical steel tanks which are open-top, flat-closed, conical-closed and torispherical-closed and three wall thicknesses of 4, 6 and 8 mm were considered in FE modeling of cylindrical steel tanks. The roof shapes significantly affect load distribution on the tank shell under the seismic action. Composite FRP materials are widely used for winding thin-walled cylindrical steel structures. The retrofitting efficiency of cylindrical steel water tank is tested under the seismic loading with the externally bonded CFRP laminates. In retrofitting of cylindrical steel tank, the CFRP composite material coating method was used to improve of seismic performance of cylindrical steel tanks. ANSYS software was used to analyze the cylindrical steel tanks and maximum equivalent (von-Mises) and directional deformation were obtained. Equivalent (von-Mises) stresses significantly decreased due to the coating of the tank shell with FRP composite material. In thin-walled steel structures, excessive stress causes buckling and deformations. Therefore, retrofitting led to decrease in stress, reductions in directional and buckling deformation of the open-top, flat-closed, conical-closed and torispherical-closed tanks.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.3 no.1
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• pp.25-34
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• 1995

General free vibration characteristics of cantilevered circular cylindrical tanks are analyzed using the integral equations technique with the cubic spline functions. For computations, the partial differential equations for thin shallow shells as given by Flugge's have been employed after the addition of the inertia forces. The application of the method is illustrated with a numerical examples of tanks which are free at the top edge and fixed at the bottom. The results obtained by this method have been compared with the available results and a good agreement was found.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 1992.10a
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• pp.61-66
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• 1992

The present paper deals with the optimum design of reinforced concrete cylindrical shell tanks in according to ACI 318-89 code. The purpose of this investigation is to find the optimum values of the steel ratio and the effective thickness of reinforced concrete cylindrical shell tanks. The analysts is carried out using a simple computer programming, SMAP(segmented matrix analysis package). The optimization is carried out using GINO programming. Optimum results for cylindrical shell tanks with uniform, stepwise and piecewise linealy varying thicknesses are presented.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.533-542
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• 2002

This paper considers the buckling and post-buckling behavior of empty metal storage tanks under wind load. The structures of such tanks may be idealized as cantilever cylindrical shells, and the structural response is investigated using a computational model. The modeling employs a doubly curved finite element based on a theory by Simo and coworkers, which is capable of handling large displacements and plasticity. Buckling results for tanks with four different geometric relations are presented to consider the influence of the ratios between the radius and the height of the shell (R/L), and between the radius and the thickness (R/t). The studies aim to clarify the differences in the shells regarding their imperfection-sensitivity. The results show that thin-walled short tanks, with R/L = 3, display high imperfection sensitivity, while tanks with R/L = 0.5 are almost insensitive to imperfections. Changes in the total potential energy of tanks that would buckle under the same high wind pressures are also considered.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.97-111
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• 2020

Cylindrical steel tanks are important components of industrial facilities. Their safety becomes a crucial issue since any failure may cause catastrophic consequences. The aim of the paper is to show the results of comprehensive FEM numerical investigation focused on the response of cylindrical steel tanks under mining tremors and moderate earthquakes. The effects of different levels of liquid filling, the influence of non-uniform seismic excitation as well as the aspects of diagnosis of structural damage have been investigated. The results of the modal analysis indicate that the level of liquid filling is really essential in the structural analysis leading to considerable changes in the shapes of vibration modes with a substantial reduction in the natural frequencies when the level of liquid increases. The results of seismic and paraseismic analysis indicate that the filling the tank with liquid leads to the substantial increase in the structural response underground motions. It has also been observed that the peak structural response values under mining tremors and moderate earthquakes can be comparable to each other. Moreover, the consideration of spatial effects related to seismic wave propagation leads to a considerable decrease in the structural response under non-uniform seismic excitation. Finally, the analysis of damage diagnosis in steel tanks shows that different types of damage may induce changes in the free vibration modes and values of natural frequencies.

• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.439-455
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• 2023

Free surface fluid oscillation in prolate spheroidal tanks has been investigated analytically in this study. This paper aims is to investigate the sloshing frequencies in spheroidal prolate tanks and compare them with conventional cylindrical and spherical containers to select the best tank geometry for use in space launch vehicles in which the volume of fuel is very high. Based on this, the analytical method (Fourier series expansion) and potential fluid theory in the spheroidal coordinate system are used to extract and analyze the governing differential equations of motion. Then, according to different aspect ratios and other parameters such as filling levels, the fluid sloshing frequencies in the spheroidal prolate tank are determined and evaluated based on various parameters. The natural frequencies obtained for a particular tank are compared with other literature and show a good agreement with these results. In addition, spheroidal prolate tank frequencies have been compared with sloshing frequencies in cylindrical and spherical containers in different modes. Results show that when the prolate spheroidal tank is nearly full and in the worst case when the tank is half full and the free fluid surface is the highest, the prolate spheroidal natural frequencies are higher than of spherical and cylindrical tanks. Therefore, the use of spheroidal tanks in heavy space launch vehicles, in addition to the optimal use of placement space, significantly reduces the destructive effects of sloshing.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.95-102
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• 2018

Seismic fragility curves of concrete cylindrical tanks are determined using the finite element method. Vulnerabilities including sloshing of contents, tensile cracking and compression failure of the tank wall due to bending are accounted for. Effects of wall flexibility, fixity at the base, and height-diameter ratio on the response are investigated. Tall, medium and squat tanks are considered. The dynamic analysis is implemented using the horizontal components of consistent earthquakes. The study shows that generally taller tanks are more vulnerable to all of the failure modes considered. Among the modes of failure, the bending capacity of wall was shown to be the critical design parameter.

• Wind and Structures
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.483-493
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• 2020

Large cylindrical floating-roof tanks, constructed as oil containers, are usually distributed regularly in open area and easily exposed to severe wind loads. However, wind pressures around these grouped squat tanks appear to have not been clearly given in design codes or thoroughly studied in existing researches. This paper conducts a detailed investigation on wind loads on the external wall of a four-tank group in square arrangement. To achieve that, wind tunnel tests are carried out on both empty and full tank groups, considering various wind angles and spacing. Results show that 3 regions in elevation can be identified on the tank shell according to the circumferential wind pressure distribution. The upper 2 regions cover a relatively small portion of the shell where excessive negative pressures are spotted, setting an alarm to the design of the top angle and stiffening rings. By comparing results on grouped tanks to those on an isolated tank, grouping effects concerning wind angle, tank position in group and spacing are discussed. Deviations on pressure distributions that will compromise structural safety are outlined, including the increase of negative pressures, the shift of maximum pressure locations as well as the change of positive pressure range. And, several potentially unfavourable wind pressure distributions are selected for further analyses.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.759-772
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• 2010

Seismic isolation is a well-known method to mitigate the earthquake effects on structures by increasing their fundamental natural periods at the expense of larger displacements in the structural system. In this paper, the seismic response of isolated and fixed base vertical, cylindrical, liquid storage tanks is investigated using a Finite Element Model (FEM), taking into account fluid-structure interaction effects. Three vertical, cylindrical tanks with different ratios of height to radius (H/R = 2.6, 1.0 and 0.3) are numerically analyzed and the results of response-history analysis, including base shear, overturning moment and free surface displacement are reported for isolated and non-isolated tanks. Isolated tanks equipped by lead rubber bearings isolators and the bearing are modeled by using a non-linear spring in FEM model. It is observed that the seismic isolation of liquid storage tanks is quite effective and the response of isolated tanks is significantly influenced by the system parameters such as their fundamental frequencies and the aspect ratio of the tanks. However, the base isolation does not significantly affect the surface wave height and even it can causes adverse effects on the free surface sloshing motion.

• Journal of the Earthquake Engineering Society of Korea
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.69-75
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• 1998

Because the collapse of liquid-storage tank structures under earthquakes brings out substantially more damages by indirect effects(continuous losses of economy and environmental disruption due to the spillage of toxic contents or pollutants) than direct economic losses of tanks and contents, it is an urgent matter to provide earthquake resistant design criteria in order to minimize such direct/indirect damages. In this paper, as fundamental works to prepare earthquake resistant design criteria for cylindrical liquid-storage tanks, analysis methods given in the Recommendations of New Zealand and Austria are reviewed and the applicabilities and problems of the two methods are set forth by comparison of the analysis results with a numerical example.