Abstract
Cylindrical storage tanks are widely used for various types of liquids, including hazardous contents, thus requiring suitable and careful design for seismic actions. The study herein presented deals with the dynamic analysis of a ground-based horizontal cylindrical tank containing butane and with its safety verification. The analyses are based on a detailed finite element (FE) model; a simplified one-degree-of-freedom idealization is also set up and used for verification of the FE results. Particular attention is paid to sloshing and asynchronous seismic input effects. Sloshing effects are investigated according to the current literature state of the art. An efficient methodology based on an “impulsive-convective” decomposition of the container-fluid motion is adopted for the calculation of the seismic force. The effects of asynchronous ground motion are studied by suitable pseudo-static analyses. Comparison between seismic action effects, obtained with and without consideration of sloshing and asynchronous seismic input, shows a rather important influence of these conditions on the final results.
Highlights
Seismic loading can induce large damages in industrial facilities and their complex components (Babič and Dolšek 2016; Demartino et al 2017a, b; Nuti et al 2009)
Liquid storage tanks and piping systems are considered as critical components of those industrial facilities (Vathi et al 2017; Bakalis et al 2017)
The maximum seismic design force, i.e. the most unfavorable condition, is obtained in corresponding of the maximum possible liquid fill height in the cylinder, that is when the fluid mass tends to behave like an impulsive mass and sloshing effects become negligible
Summary
Seismic loading can induce large damages in industrial facilities and their complex components (Babič and Dolšek 2016; Demartino et al 2017a, b; Nuti et al 2009). Gases are usually stored under high-pressure, often in liquid form since the volume is largely reduced Within this framework, ground-based horizontal cylindrical tanks resting upon two supports are used mainly for storage of various liquids. As to the first aspect (1), it is worth noting that the seismic analysis of cylindrical storage tanks requires accounting for the fluid–structure interaction This phenomenon, referred to as “liquid sloshing,” is generated by the presence of a free surface allowing for fluid motions and is generally caused by external tank excitation, significantly affecting in many cases the dynamic response (Hamdan 2000; Patkas and Karamanos 2007).
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