Abstract
Large Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) tanks are prone to damage during strong earthquakes, and accurate seismic analysis must be performed during the design phase to prevent secondary disasters. However, the seismic analysis of large LNG tanks is associated with high computational requirements, which cannot be satisfied by the calculation efficiency of traditional analytical techniques such as the Coupled Eulerian–Lagrangian (CEL) method. Thus, this paper aims to employ a less computationally demanding algorithm, the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics-Finite Element Method (SPH-FEM) algorithm, to simulate large LNG tanks. The seismic response of a 160,000 m3 LNG prestressed storage tank is evaluated with different liquid depths using the SPH-FEM algorithm, and simulation results are obtained with excellent efficiency and accuracy. In addition, large von Mises stress at the base of the tank indicates that strong earthquakes can severely jeopardize the structural integrity of large LNG tanks. Therefore, the SPH-FEM algorithm provides a feasible approach for the analysis of large liquid tanks in seismic engineering applications.
Highlights
Natural gas is a reliable source of energy that is used globally to meet growing energy demands
Kalateh and Koosheh [30] used the SPH-Finite Element Method (FEM) method to simulate the interaction between a convergent-divergent nozzle and cavitating flow, and the results showed that the behaviour of liquid and vapor at the interface matched other numerical and experimental methods
The smoothed particle hydrodynamics-finite element method (SPH-FEM) method is compared with the Coupled Eulerian–Lagrangian (CEL) method to demonstrate the advantage of SPH-FEM in terms of efficiency and accuracy. en, the SPH-FEM algorithm is used to analyze the dynamic response of a 160,000 m3 Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) prestressed storage tank subjected to three earthquake waves in a Class II site. e main conclusions drawn from the numerical simulations can be summarized as follows: (1) Under static conditions, the von Mises stress increases at a linear rate with an increasing liquid volume
Summary
Natural gas is a reliable source of energy that is used globally to meet growing energy demands. LNG storage tanks have high seismic risks compared to traditional buildings because they can lead to secondary disasters, such as explosions and environmental pollution, that result in significant property damage or loss of life. The destruction of an LNG tank during the 1964 Japan earthquake caused fires and explosions that resulted in serious societal losses and pollution. Another example was the 1976 Tangshan earthquake in which the bottom ring of a storage tank buckled and led to liquid leakage [2]. Us, it is of paramount importance to investigate the seismic performance of LNG tanks to ensure their structural safety Another example was the 1976 Tangshan earthquake in which the bottom ring of a storage tank buckled and led to liquid leakage [2]. us, it is of paramount importance to investigate the seismic performance of LNG tanks to ensure their structural safety
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