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Design of liquid-storage tank: results of software modeling vs calculations according to Eurocode

D
ec   98 W   H c  0.3   p   c (1)
20  S 
D
et   98 Wt   Hc  0.3   pt  (2)
20  St 
The corrosion allowance was taken as c=1.5 mm. The distances from the bottom of the course, under
consideration to the height, Hc defined in 9.2.1 [13] are listed in Table 1. For the design pressure smaller than 10
mbar, the pressure values p and pt are 0 and the maximum design densities of the contained and test medium are
W=Wt=1 kg/l. According to [13], the allowable design (3) and test (4) stresses are:
2 2 
S  min    r   235  156.66; 260  156.66 N / mm 2 (3)
3 3 
St  min 0.75   r  0.75  235  176.25; 260   176.25 N / mm 2 , (4)
The values of the required thicknesses for each shell course are listed in Table 1.

Table 1 Required (e) and adopted (t) shell thickness

course no. Hc [m] ec [mm] et [mm] t [mm]
1 15.0 11.01 8.46 12
2 13.0 9.72 7.30 10
3 11.0 8.42 6.15 9
4 9.0 7.13 5.00 8
5 7.0 5.84 3.86 8
6 5.0 4.54 2.71 8
7 3.0 3.25 1.55 8
8 1.0 1.95 0.40 8

3 LOAD VALUES

The loads were calculated according to [8] and the specific location: Croatia, Split, latitude 43° 30' N longitude 16°
27' E, and altitude 25 m. The analysis procedure is explained in detail in [14], but because of simplicity, the self-
weight, liquid induced, and snow loads are not shown in this article. The wind and seismic analysis are described
with additional detail.
Self-weight of the cylinder wall and roof weight per meter of cylinder perimeter is Wt=11.65 kN/m’, in which
the density of steel S235 is γs=78.5 kN/m3, and the weight of the aluminum dome is 10.3 kg/m2. The liquid induced
load according to [8] (Chapter 7) is p(z)=147.2 kN/m2. The snow loads according to [15] (Chapter 5) are:
characteristic value sk=0.5 kN/m2, and coefficients Ce and Ct are 1.0, so that the snow load perpendicular to the
surface of the roof dome is s=0.40 kN/m2. The basic wind pressure on the shell qb according to [16] (Chapter 7.9),
where vb,0=25 m/s and Cseason=Cdir=1.0, is qb=0.39 kN/m2. Different peak velocity wind-pressure values
perpendicular to the cylinder wall are determined depending on the exposure factor, for type I terrain category,
according to [14].
Table 2 Wind pressure values perpendicular on the cylinder wall
z [m] ce(z) qb [kN/m2] qp(ze) [kN/m2]
2 2.0 0.78
4 2.2 0.86
6 2.5 0.98
8 2.6 1.01
0.39
10 2.8 1.09
12 2.9 1.13
14 3.0 1.17
16 3.1 1.21

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According to [10], Annex D 1.3.2., the characteristic wind distribution perpendicular to the cylinder, described
in detail in [14], can be simplified using expression (5):
qeq  k w  qw ,max (5)
where qw,max is the peak velocity (maximal) pressure (marked as qp(ze) in Table 2) and kw is determined by
expression (6), and has to be inside the range 0.65<kw<1.0:

kw  0.46 1  0.1  / C  r / t  (6)
where the dimensionless length parameter ω= l⁄√r⁄t, and Cθ=1.0 is taken from [10] (Table D.3), according
to the boundary conditions. kw is higher than 1.0 in all cylinder courses, so kw=1.0 is adopted. The suction pressure
on the inner surface of the tank, according to [10] (Annex B Chapter 2.9) for round cylindrical tanks with small
openings and with an adequate ventilation system, is determined by the internal pressure coefficient c p. The
recommended value of -0.4 is used, so qs=-0.48 kN/m2.
According to [12] (Annex A Chapter A.3.2.2), the simplified procedure for fixed base cylindrical tanks has
been used. The ground acceleration (ag) is 0.22g, and the response spectrum type 1 for foundation soil type A was
chosen. The steel tank with radius (R) of 10.35 m is fully anchored to a concrete mat foundation. The total mass of
water in the tank (m) is 5.05x106 kg. The total mass of the tank wall (mw) is 73.7x103 kg, and the height of its center
of gravity (hw) is 7.43 m. The mass of the tank roof (mr) is 3.5x103 kg, and the height of its center of gravity (hr) is
18 m. 0.5% and 2% damped elastic response spectra are used. First, the equivalent uniform thickness of the tank
wall is calculated by the weighted average method, using weights equal to the distance from the liquid surface,
s=9.59 mm. The modulus of elasticity of steel is E=2.1x1011 N/m2, while water density equals ρ=1000 kg/m3. For
H/r=1.45 the coefficient values for first impulse and convective mode of vibrations are interpolated from [12] (Table
A.2).

Table 3 Coefficients Cj and Cc for the natural periods, masses mj and me and heights hi and he from the
base of the point of application of the wall pressure resultant, for the impulsive and convective
components
Ci Cc mi/m mc/m hi/H hc/H hi’/H hc’/H
6.09 1.48 0.672 0.328 0.437 0.683 0.572 0.739

The natural periods of the impulsive and the convective responses are calculated using expressions (7) and
(8).
H  (7)
Timp  Ci 
s/ R  E
Tcon  Cc  R (8)
Using coefficients from Table 3, the impulsive and convective mases are m i=3.39*10 kg and mc=1.65*106
6

kg, respectively. The impulsive spectral acceleration, for Timp=0.207 s obtained from the 2% damped elastic
response spectrum, is Se(Timp)=5.40 m/s2. The convective spectral acceleration for Tcon=4.761 s, obtained from the
2% damped response spectrum, is Se(Tcon)=0.245 m/s2.
The base shear force, determined according [12], Annex A.3.2.2.2., is
Q   mi  mw  mr   Se Timp   mc  Se Tcon  (9)
and is equal to Q=19127.3 kN. The overturning moment above the base plate, and the overturning moment
below the base plate, obtained from (10) and (11) are as follows
M   mi  hi  mw  hw  mr  hr   Se Timp   mc  hc  Se Tcon  (10)

M '   mi  hi ' mw  hw  mr  hr   Se Timp   mc  hc ' Se Tcon  (11)

and are equal to M=127366.0 kNm, and M'=164866.8 kNm. The maximum vertical displacement of the liquid
surface due to sloshing can be obtained by (12), and is equal to dmax=0.21 m.

Gulin, M, Uzelac, I, Dolejš, J, Boko, I

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dmax  0,84  R  Se Tcon  / g (12)

According to [12], Annex A Chapters A.2.2 and A.3.3, the hydrodynamic pressure owing to vertical ground
acceleration, does not combine with the shear component or bending moment on the wall or foundation of the tank
because of axial symmetry. However, because of the nature of the vertical motion of the tank with acceleration
there is an effect of radial breathing. Consequently, owing to vertical ground acceleration in the tank shell, there
are stresses from the hydrodynamic pressure, according to Chapter A.2.2, and the pressure caused by deformation
of the shell in the radial direction, as defined in A.3.3. As suggested in [12], the total impact on the tank wall p v is
equal to the square root of the sum of squares of these two pressures, and the values are listed in Table 4.
Hydrodynamic pressure is defined in expression (13), where water density is ρ=1000 kg/m3, water level H=15 m,
coefficient ς=z/H is defined in A.2.1.1, and Av(t) is the type 1 vertical elastic response spectrum acceleration
according to [11].
pvr  ,t     H  1     Av  t  (13)
The radial deformation pressure is calculated using expression (14), where f(γ) depends on the radius to
water height ratio. Avf(t), which is the acceleration response of a simple oscillator having a frequency equal to the
fundamental frequency of the axisymmetric vibration of the tank with the fluid, equals 4.22 m/s2 with 2% dampening.
The fundamental frequency is 4.81 s-1 from expression [12], A.42.
 
pvf  ,t   0.815  f       H  cos     Avf  t 
2 
(14)
Table 4 Combined hydrodynamic pressure values
course no. z [m] pvf(ς,t) [N/mm2] pvr(ς,t) [N/mm2] pv [N/mm2]
1 0.1 0.060 0.061 0.086
2 2 0.059 0.054 0.080
3 4 0.055 0.045 0.071
4 6 0.049 0.037 0.061
5 8 0.041 0.029 0.050
6 10 0.030 0.020 0.036
7 12 0.019 0.012 0.022
8 14 0.007 0.004 0.008

4 LOAD COMBINATIONS

The general assumptions given in [7] are applicable, but tanks differ from other structures because they are
exposed to full loads during most of their life span. Therefore, it is recommended to use [8], Annex A, that defines
the partial safety factors, combinations for ultimate limit states (ULS), and serviceability limit states (SLS). According
to Table A.2 and expressions (6.10a) and (6.12b), the following load combinations were analyzed for ULS (buckling
limit state LS3):
Table 5 Load combinations
Name Description
D Liquid discharge "𝛾𝐺,𝑗(Wt)"+ "𝛾𝑄,1 1.0 T"+ "𝛾𝑄,𝑖 0.6 (𝑆+𝑊)"
I Imposed loads "𝛾𝐺,𝑗(Wt)"+ "𝛾𝑄,1 1.0 T"+ "𝛾𝑄,𝑖 0.6 (𝑆+𝑊)"
S Snow "𝛾𝐺,𝑗(Wt)"+ "𝛾𝑄,1 1.0 T"+ "0.6 𝑆"
WF Wind and full tank "𝛾𝐺,j(Wt)"+ "𝛾𝑄,1 1.0 Tℎ"+ "0.6 𝑊"
WE Wind and empty tank "𝛾𝐺,𝑗(Wt)"+ "0.6 𝑊"
SF Earthquake on full tank "(Wt)" + "𝐸" + "0.8 Tℎ"
SE Earthquake on empty tank "(Wt)"+ "𝐸"

In Table 5, Wt is tank self-weight, E is earthquake load, T is designed liquid height, Th is maximum liquid
height, S is snow load, and W is wind load.

Gulin, M, Uzelac, I, Dolejš, J, Boko, I

https://doi.org/10.13167/2017.15.8 89