Damage To Tanks Research Articles

Flow Field Analysis within Industrial Quenching Tanks Operated with Aqueous Polymer Solutions in the Steel Industry

Abstract Quenching with polymer solutions for steel heat treatment offers adjustable performance and improved ecological impact compared to conventional water or oil quenching. The submersion cooling operation poses challenges due to the intense vapor/polymer film collapse on the component surface, potentially destabilizing batch components. Therefore, controlled recirculation is critical to preventing tank and specimen damage during cooling and ensuring effective steel hardening. However, flow structure analysis is often overlooked and disregarded in industrial tank design. Thus, this study evaluates the tank geometries of two partner industries to determine if they provide the necessary homogeneous flow for optimal quenching. The analysis combines experimental velocity measurements with a numerical model, with the identification of different flow intensity regions being the main outcome of this work. The results suggest that geometric modifications could improve flow recirculation, enhancing quenching performance.

Seismic Performance of Cylindrical Liquid Storage Tanks in the 2023 Kahramanmaras Earthquakes: A Case Study of a Self-Supported Oil Storage Tank

ABSTRACT This paper covers the seismic performance of liquid tanks due to 2023 Türkiye earthquakes and a case study of a moderately damaged self-supported tank is studied. Typical types of damage were sloshing induced upper tank wall deformations, sliding and uplift of the base, and rupture at tank-pipe connections. Besides, slip-prone tanks were less vulnerable to tank damage. The coupling between sliding and uplift responses of a self-supported tank is investigated considering different coefficients of friction. The results revealed that tank wall stresses can be significantly reduced due to sliding effect.

Bioremediation of contaminated soil by crude oil of Baiji refinery by extraction of the local dominant bacteria

Abstract In most communities, soil contamination is a problem as it affects people and the environment. Because oil spills on soil substantially impact the environment, accidental infusions and spills of ore oils frequently result in a complete or partial exchange of the soil pore fluid by oil-contaminated soils, altering the geotechnical engineering characteristics. Therefore, efficiently removing petroleum hydrocarbon pollutants from contaminated soil is urgently needed. A novel technique that is gaining popularity worldwide to clean up places polluted with petroleum hydrocarbons is known as bioremediation. This study browser the fundamental processes involved in bioremediation and removal efficiency of TPH (Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon) within different periods for (the Baiji refinery) which is polluted with crude oil as a result of numerous oil wells, oil drilling, pipeline, and storage tank damage, natural seepage, and spills during the conflict and Noory channel which content crude oil, waste of refinery process and sludge. The research aims to extract the dominant bacteria in the contaminated soil and use the last in bioremediation and find out the differences in its effectiveness in treating total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) later. The result indicates that the dominant bacteria are Stutzerimonas balearica and Bacillus subtilis which are used later in bioremediation and can digest TPH. The removal efficiency of TPH during the study period was 55, 65, 68, 78, 82, 85, and 92% for spilled samples and 50, 62, 66, 70, 80, 84, and 90% for the Noory channel, respectively.

A Possibility Evaluation Model for Road Transportation of Hazardous Chemicals Based on Bow-tie Theory and Bayesian Model

This paper collected 1115 road transportation accidents of hazardous chemicals in China from 2013 to 2021, and constructed a total of 120 accident chains, among which the most common accident chain was "impact → rear-end collision → fuel tank damage → leakage", with a total of 195 times. Based on the analysis of historical accident data, the occurrence mechanism of road transportation accidents of hazardous chemicals was discussed. Based on the bow-tie theory, the bow-tie diagram was established to realize the construction of qualitative reasoning bow-tie diagram for multi-disaster coupling accidents in road transportation of hazardous chemicals. The mapping rules between Bow-tie model and Bayesian network were established, and the structure of Bayesian network for road transportation of hazardous chemicals was constructed. The prior probability and conditional probability of Bayesian network nodes are determined by multi-source data, and the real-time accident probability evaluation is realized by combining quantitative and qualitative methods. Finally, a real time evaluation of the possibility of multi-disaster coupling accidents is realized every 30 seconds through a numerical example, which reflects the influence law of multi-disaster coupling scenarios on risks.

Study on tank damage and response of adjacent tanks in full time domain of detonation

The flammable gas volatilized from the storage medium in the tank will burn and explode under the action of an accidental ignition source. Tank explosions formed by the explosive shock wave, explosive debris will not only cause their own damage, but also on the safe operation of adjacent tanks to form a threat. Therefore, in this paper, the vertical dome roof tank is taken as the research object, the criteria of brittle fracture failure of tank materials are constructed, and the multi-field coupling calculation model of tank detonation based on TNT equivalent method is established, taking into account the fluid properties inside and outside the tank, the structure of implosion tank and adjacent tank. By analyzing the full time domain process of gas detonation in tanks under different influence factors, the response to implosion damage of tanks and adjacent tanks under the action of explosion shock wave overpressure and debris was obtained. With the increase of the liquid level, the overpressure and deformation of the shock wave of the detonation tank and adjacent tank decrease, and the type and number of fragments decrease. With the increase of the volume of the tank, the overpressure and stress of the shock wave become larger, the strain rate of the tank becomes larger, and brittle failure is more likely to occur. The types and number of fragments formed increase, but detonation fragments are not formed when the tank is full. The research results in this paper provide a theoretical basis and calculation method for preventing and controlling tank implosion accidents, as well as tank design and tank spacing layout.

Liquid Hydrogen Storage Tank Loading Generation for Civil Aircraft Damage Tolerance Analysis

The study presented is a preliminary approach and a proposal to the derivation of a loading spectrum for fatigue and damage tolerance analysis for civil aviation Liquid Hydrogen storage tanks. It is anticipated for the first generation of LH2 storage tanks for aviation to utilize metallic lightweight materials. Existing solutions are either too structurally heavy or with a short life span, both constraints making them unsuitable for aircraft vehicles were less mass and longevity is of paramount importance. The objective of the work was to provide suggestions for the generation of representative loading spectra for storage tank fatigue and damage tolerance preliminary design analysis and sizing.

Statistical Analysis of an RC Elevated Tank Damage by a Nonlinear Approach

In the seismic field, the seismic performance of a structure reflects its damage level under a given seismic demand. Thus, to evaluate this performance, many analysis and design techniques are used, such as nonlinear approach commonly called Pushover is used in this research. On the other hand, predicting the damage level is a random process, where only a probabilistic approach would allow predicting it, as the level of uncertainty, related to the seismic action is important. For this purpose, a statistical study was conducted through simulations with large number of seismic accelerations, generated from a probabilistic distribution law, inspired from the Monte Carlo method, to evaluate the damage rates corresponding to each damage domain. The results revealed the influence of the seismic zone and the location of the structure on the damage rate observed after seismic loading.

Rollover Prevention Model for Stratified Liquefied Natural Gas in Storage Tanks

At least 24 liquefied natural gas (LNG) rollover incidents have been reported since 1960. During rollover, because of the heat ingress through the tank walls, a stratified LNG may be suddenly homogenized while releasing massive amounts of vapor. It can result in an overpressure in the tank and significant amounts of potentially explosive LNG vapor being vented out. Both of these factors represent considerable hazards. Rollover is a physical mixing process in a single tank with two or more different cells of LNG of different compositions, temperatures, and densities that can manifest in large boil-off rates. It can exceed venting equipment capacities, and vapor pressure in tank increases rapidly and in extreme cases can lead to tank damage. This paper presents numerical approach for determination of time of rollover occurrence in storage tank. The presented model is based on the energy balance of the stratified cryogenic liquid and the gas phase as separate three thermodynamic systems in the storage tank. As a result of proposed model, for the adopted assumptions and cylindrical tank volume of 78,500 m3, the approximate time of the rollover occurrence was determined for two cases. In the first case, for heavier LNG, the rollover phenomenon will occur 193.25 h after the start of the calculations from the assumed initial conditions. In the second case, for light LNG with a higher initial liquid level in the tank, the rollover will occur after 150.25 h.

Appropriateness of Checklist Based on Structural Analysis in Seismic Safety Design of SMC Fire Extinguisher Tank

Recently, in seismic design analysis, some non-structural elements have been defined and analyzed as rigid bodies, which makes it difficult to ensure the safety of non-structural elements against earthquakes. In the recently revised “Seismic Design Standards for Fire-Fighting Facilities,” the seismic design of fire-fighting facilities for seismic load and structural safety prioritizes the seismic design of each connection. In particular, in a tank vibrating due to an earthquake, pressure from fluid flow is exerted on the tank wall due to the interaction between the liquid and structure; in fact, this pressure may increase the stress of the tank and cause structural damage. In addition, the frequency of the water tank and connecting pipe is different, which may alter each other’s wavelength. The water tank is crucial for supplying water, which acts as a fire-extinguishing agent, to the fire-extinguishing facility. In terms of earthquake damage to the water tank, the risk increases when water cannot be supplied during a fire due to damage to the continuous section of the tank wall and damage to the pipe connector connected to the tank. In this study, criteria for review items are presented such that the “Structural Safety Checklist for Seismic Design of Water Tanks” can be reviewed and compared by item in a structural review of the water tank during seismic design. Structural calculation via numerical calculation cannot adequately account for the structure of the water tank. Therefore, calculations for the structure are verified, a quantitative design that addresses the limitations of numerical calculation is considered, and a three-dimensional design that includes the relative displacement of connections is established. Structural safety is confirmed by examining the structural members and connections through modeling and structural analysis simulation.

The sloshing effects on the crack instability of the spherical tank under the simultaneous effect of internal pressure and earthquake

Spherical tanks have an important function in the industry due to the internal pressure of their contents. Also, the supporting structure of the spherical tank controls stability and damage to the tank One of the damages that can lead to a critical situation is an unstable crack in the column-vessel joint. In this study, the sloshing effects on the instability of 10 mm and 20 mm long semi-elliptical cracks with three aspect ratios in the connection zones of the supporting structure under the effect of internal pressure and eleven earthquakes have been investigated. Furthermore, using the finite element sub-modeling method around the crack area and part of the structure, the effect of fluid–structure interaction has been considered for three liquid levels to calculate the stress intensity factors along the crack front. Since the tank is under the simultaneous effect of internal pressure, earthquake, and sloshing motion, a three-dimensional mixed-mode stress intensity factor needed to be considered to study the crack instability. The results show that earthquakes and sloshing motions can have various effects on the equivalent stress intensity factors. For almost two-thirds of the studied cases, the equivalent stress intensity factor for the 50% filled vessel was 10%–70% greater than the 98% filled vessel. This finding shows that the crack located in the connection zones of the supporting structure under the simultaneous effect of internal pressure, earthquake, and sloshing motion, could lead to failure.

Application of failure mode effect analysis on hazard identification and risk control

Introduction: PT. X is a chemical industry with high hazards, especially those related to hazardous and toxic materials; the company also uses equipment and machines with fire or explosion hazards. Component's failure to operate is a major problem in PT. X. The specific objective of this study was to evaluate hazards and control the risks to prevent accidents and protect company assets, especially for employee safety. Methods: The data collected is Process Flow Diagram (PFD), Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), and component failure data. The risk assessment for the components of Sodium Silicate Production is carried out by multiplying the occurrence measurement scale and severity measurement scale. The risk value for the unacceptable risk category is between 12 and 25, where the risk must be controlled first. Results: This study found that the highest risk value is dissolver tank leaks, the production pump not working, and the ball valve stuck. An example of structural mitigation in the dissolver tank is to carry out routine maintenance once a month to know the material's condition and to immediately make repairs if there are signs of tank damage to prevent leakage in the tank. Conclusions: This research proves that some hazards have not been evaluated and controlled, so there are still some failures in the production process of Sodium Silicate.

Numerical investigation on the characteristics of leakage and dispersion of cryogenic liquid oxygen in open environment

Liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen/liquid methane are widely used as cryogenic propellants in the field of aerospace launch. Numerical research is carried out for the potential liquid oxygen leakage caused by damage of tanks or rupture of pipelines. The Mixture multiphase flow model is used, where the slip velocity between the gas–liquid phases and the phase change of water vapor are considered. The development process of the temperature and oxygen concentration distribution after the leakage and the extinction process after the leakage stops are investigated. What's more, the influences of ambient temperature, spill rate, cofferdam, and wind direction on the temperature and concentration distribution are analyzed. The results show that, after about 90 s of continuous liquid oxygen leakage, the oxygen cloud reaches a quasi-steady state. The volume fraction of oxygen in the air reduces to 23% at 60 s after stopping the leakage. As the ambient temperature increases from 253 K to 308 K, the hazardous temperature region is reduced while the maximum oxygen concentration increases from 0.422 to 0.471. An increase in spill rate significantly increases the hazardous regions of temperature and concentration. In contrast, increasing the angle in the horizontal plane between the wind direction and the direction of leakage or building a cofferdam can reduce the extent of the hazardous region. The results of this paper can provide references for the development of liquid oxygen leakage experiments, the development of related standards, and the emergency treatment of accidents.

Study on the Ignition Mechanism of Inert Fuel Tank Subjected to High-Velocity Impact of Fragments.

Nowadays, aircraft fuel tanks are protected by measures such as inerting, fire and explosion suppression, which significantly improve their ability to mitigate mechanical damage and prevent fire in the case of an accidental attack. In this study, an equivalent inert fuel tank with fire and explosion suppression was designed according to the vulnerabilities of a typical fighter. Then, a ballistic gun, a 37 mm gun and a two-stage light-gas gun were used to propel different fragments in tank damage experiments at different speeds (1400 m/s–2600 m/s). Experimental results show that the disassembly of a fuel tank is a prerequisite for igniting fuel. When the fragments hit the gas phase of the tank, the fuel tank was not disassembled and the fuel was not ignited. The calculation results show that the internal oxygen concentration was always lower than the limiting oxygen concentration (12%) before the fuel tank was disassembled. In addition, the minimum ignition speeds of inerted fragments with different masses as predicted by the ignition criterion when hitting the liquid fuel are consistent with the test results. This shows that increasing the mass of inert fragments will increase the minimum ignition speed and reduce the probability of ignition of the fuel. However, the implosion effect of the energetic fragments released about 3 times the chemical energy of its own kinetic energy, and the high-temperature and high-pressure products were very beneficial to the disintegration and ignition of the fuel tank compared to inert fragments.

Prospects for underground storage of lubricants in the Arctic

Currently, subsoil users in the Far North are faced with serious problems connected with logistics of shipment and storage of high-cube building materials, equipment, lubricants and produced minerals. Lubricants are mostly stored in surface tanks made of steel (or, less often, reinforced concrete). Operation of surface tanks involves some risks governed by evaporation of lubricants in summer period, fire and explosion hazards and loss of sealing of the tanks. In case of damage of steel tanks, lubricants spread over ground surface, and penetrate surface water, soil and air, which has a dramatic environmental impact. Land reclamation and nature recovery take much time (decades) and can be extremely expensive for subsoil users. An alternative to surface storage tanks in the conditions of the Far North can be underground storages arranged in impermeable permafrost rocks. Permafrost rocks represent a cryogenic barrier and eliminate migration of the stored products to the environment. Furthermore, mining industry waste placed in underground storages completely freeze with time and become a part of geological rock mass, which totally eliminates seepage and outlet of waste to ground surface. The underground storages can be mines, boreholes and trenches by type. This article describes the main technological aspects of construction of downhole underground storages which ensure reliable safekeeping of liquid hydrocarbons in frozen rock mass. The economic efficiency of such storages as compared with the surface analogs is briefly proved, the experience of commercial-scale introduction of the downhole storage construction technology is described, and the further routes of the research aimed to enhance efficiency of underground storages in development of remote lands in the permafrost areas are identified. To increase efficiency of this technology, it is proposed to launch R and D work. Finally, the article offers a proposal on construction of underground storages instead of time-worn surface steel tanks in the Far North.

Kernel Principal Component Analysis for Structural Health Monitoring and Damage Detection of an Engineering Structure Under Operational Loading Variations

This paper highlights kernel principal component analysis (KPCA) in distinguishing damage-sensitive features from the effects of liquid loading on frequency response. A vibration test is performed on an aircraft wing box incorporated with a liquid tank that undergoes various tank loading. Such experiment is established as a preliminary study of an aircraft wing that undergoes operational load change in a fuel tank. The operational loading effects in a mechanical system can lead to a false alarm as loading and damage effects produce a similar reduction in the vibration response. This study proposes a non-nonlinear transformation to separate loading effects from damage-sensitive features. Based on a baseline data set built from a healthy structure that undergoes systematic tank loading, the Gaussian parameter is measured based on the distance of the baseline data set to various damage states. As a result, both loading and damage features expand and are distinguished better. For novelty damage detection, Mahalanobis square distance (MSD) and Monte Carlo-based threshold are applied. The main contribution of this project is the nonlinear PCA projection to understand the dynamic behavior of the wing box under damage and loading influences and to differentiate both effects that arise from the tank loading and damage severities.

Seismic loads estimation on the storage tanks for toxic and flammable liquids

There are about 1 million earthquakes of varying intensity every year in the world. Further more increase in the technogenic objects number and the necessity to create environmentally safety conditions for their operation leads to improved scientific substantiation of seismic hazard parameters of technogenic objects that could adversely effect on the environment. Therefore, the research of seismic loads on the important technogenic objects still remains the urgent issue both globally and regionally. The aim of the paper is to prevent emergencies and negative impact on the environment in case of damage, destruction and leakage of storage tanks for toxic and flammable liquids due to seismic loads of different strength. There have been treated the peak amplitudes of seismic acceleration simulation during an earthquake from 1 to 9 points at the distance to the epicenter from 10 to 1000 m, the dominant excitation frequencies at the earthquake from 1 to 9 points at the distance to the epicenter from 10 to 1000 m, the earthquake average duration with the magnitude of 1 to 9 points at the distance to the epicenter from 10 to 1000 m and the issue of fluid oscillations in the arbitrary shell of rotation has been solved. The results of the research will allow to select the storage tanks parameters from the influence of resonant frequencies, to prevent their destruction and to extend the service life, to minimize the ecologically hazardous impact on the environment and prevent emergencies. For the increasing the ecological safety level of the adjacent to the storage tanks territories, it has been proposed to control the effects of natural and technogenic factors on the storage tanks taking into account the forecast models of seismic changes and fluctuations in storage tanks using the algorithm for monitoring seismic loads on storage tanks.

Retrofitting of a damaged liquid storage tank using steel and SMA anchor bolts

The inappropriate performance of liquid storage tanks following devastating earthquakes indicates that the tank damage could lead to catastrophic consequences. As the rocking response of unanchored tanks plays a significant role in their seismic performances, the base anchorage is an essential element to control the seismic performance of on-ground tanks. The present study focuses on the effect of anchorage systems, as the retrofitting strategy, on the seismic performance of an existing unanchored tank damaged during the Silakhor Earthquake of 2006 in Iran. To this end, regular steel and shape memory alloy (SMA) anchor bolts were utilized. The Seismic performance of the tank was evaluated before and after retrofitting. For every retrofitted tank, different configurations of anchor bolts were considered. The seismic performance of tanks has been investigated using incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) analysis. To assess the seismic performance of every case, a fragility analysis was conducted. The results revealed that anchored tanks showed better seismic performance compared to unanchored ones. It was also shown that the combination of energy dissipation and the super-elastic behavior of SMA anchors leads to a considerable reduction in shell failure and damage to the anchorage system.

Dynamic responses and damage of storage tanks under the coupling effect of blast wave and fragment impact

Blast wave and fragment are two main types of physical damage effects representing a significant threat to storage tank structures in chemical industrial parks. Compared with the effect of only blast wave or fragment, the coupling effect of them may cause more severe consequences and is worthy of study. A numerical study of the dynamic responses and damage of a vertical storage tank subjected to the coupling effect of blast wave and fragment is conducted based on a typical accident. The simulation results reveal that stress-concentration and rapid increase of the stress exist in the impacted region of the storage tank under the coupling effect, which leads to the structural damage of the tank exhibiting different failure modes. The coupling effect is significantly apparent following a dramatic increase of the plastic strain, and the damage of the storage tank is further aggravated. From the displacement response and energy absorption, the overall damage of the storage tank subjected to the coupling effect is more severe than that caused by blast wave and fragment separately, which also indicates that the coupling effect is an enhanced damage effect. Besides, the contribution of blast wave and fragment to the coupling effect depends on scaled distance. The results of the study help reveal the coupling effect of blast wave and fragment and prevent domino accidents caused by the coupling effect.

Seismic fragility curves for stainless-steel wine storage tanks

Wine storage tanks in seismically active parts of the world sustain significant earthquake-related damage with major financial loss implications. Consequently the development of fragility curves for such tanks using empirical damage data offers an opportunity to better understand real risk exposures and to plan for and mitigate earthquake related damage in the future. The seismic fragility curves can be used for running an earthquake scenario for other wine regions to estimate the probability of earthquake damage and further financial loss estimation. Fragility curves for wine storage tanks were developed utilising damage data collected from approximately 3400 tanks that were subjected to three major earthquakes in New Zealand in 2013 and 2016. Two-parameter (median and log-standard deviation) log-normal distribution variables were used to represent the fragility curves, and peak ground acceleration (PGA) was utilised to represent the intensity measure of the seismic ground motion. Damage states for Flat-Based (FB) and Legged (LG) wine tanks were introduced in accordance with the repair that was recommended by the structural engineers at the time of post-earthquake damage assessment of the affected wineries. A parametric study was also conducted, considering fragility curves for tanks with different capacities and different percentage of wine contents. Based on the analysis, complete damage of FB and LG wine tanks was forecast at median PGAs of 1.0 g and 0.88 g respectively in the 2013 and 2016 earthquakes, while the median PGA for minor damage to FB tanks was 0.18 g and the median PGA for minor damage to LG tanks was 0.23 g. The research presented herein highlighted the importance of evaluating and improving the seismic resilience of storage tanks within wineries located in seismicity active regions.

MACHINE LEARNING FOR SEISMIC-INDUCED DAMAGE ESTIMATION OF STEEL TANKS

Aboveground steel storage tanks are large vessels employed to store various liquids, including water, food, fertilizers, oil, and other hazardous chemicals. The damage and collapse of storage tanks can generate long-lasting consequences on built environment and communities. The seismic behavior of storage tanks is often evaluated employing fragility functions obtained simulating the tank under a variety of ground motion records. However, the computational demand of high-fidelity simulation models makes risk assessment a burdensome task. The use of data-driven surrogate models could represent a suitable solution to evaluate the seismic vulnerability of steel tanks rapidly. In this context, this paper presents an open dataset composed of 204 aboveground cylindrical steel liquid storage tanks with different geometric properties. The dataset was assembled based on past earthquake reconnaissance reports. In the dataset, different types of damage experienced by the steel tanks are divided into four classes, ranging from no damage to complete failure. Eight different machine learning algorithms are trained to predict the damage class of a steel tank as a function of its geometric properties and seismic excitation parameters. Stratified 5-fold cross-validation is used to split the dataset into training and testing subsets and to assess the prediction capability of the machine learning models. Results showed that the Support Vector Machine algorithm yielded the most accurate predictions, followed by Random Forest, XGBoost, and LightBoost. Overall, the paper demonstrated the feasibility of using machine learning models to predict the damage level of steel liquid storage tanks subjected to seismic hazard.