Seismic fragility of base-isolated water storage tanks under non-stationary earthquakes

Seismic fragility curves for fixed-base and base-isolated liquid storage tanks are developed under non-stationary earthquakes, and their seismic performance are compared. The correlation between different earthquake intensity measure (IM) parameters and peak response quantities of the base-isolated liquid storage tanks are investigated. The failure criteria are chosen based on (1) the elastic buckling strength of the tank wall, which is defined in terms of critical base shear and critical overturning moment, and (2) in terms of the critical isolation displacement. The uncertainty involved is considered in the earthquake characteristics. Non-stationary earthquake ground motions are generated using Monte Carlo (MC) simulation. Influence of the isolator characteristic parameters and modeling approaches on the seismic fragility of the base-isolated liquid storage tanks is also investigated. Peak ground acceleration is found to be the well correlated IM parameter with the peak response quantities of the base-isolated liquid storage tanks. Substantial decrease in the seismic fragility of the base-isolated liquid storage tanks is observed as compared to the fixed-base tanks. Significant influence of the isolator characteristic parameters on the seismic fragility of the base-isolated liquid storage tanks are reported in the present study.     

Seismic isolation of rigid cylindrical tanks using friction pendulum bearings

Storage tanks are vulnerable to earthquakes, as numerous major earthquakes have demonstrated. The trend of recent revisions to make seismic design criteria for large‐scale industrial storage tanks increasingly stringent has made development of cost‐effective earthquake‐resistant design and retrofit techniques for industrial tanks imperative. This study assesses the feasibility of seismic base isolation for making liquid‐filled storage tanks earthquake resistant. The sliding‐type friction pendulum seismic (FPS) bearings are considered rather than the elastomeric bearings because the dynamic characteristics of an FPS‐isolated tank remain unchanged regardless of the storage level. This work has devised a hybrid structural‐hydrodynamic model and solution algorithm, which would permit simple, accurate and efficient assessment of the seismic response of rigid cylindrical storage tanks in the context of seismic isolation. Extensive numerical simulations confirm the effectiveness of seismic base isolation of rigid cylindrical tanks using FPS bearings. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Vibration studies and tests of liquid storage tanks

Theoretical and experimental investigations of the dynamic behaviour of ground-supported, deformable, cylindrical liquid storage tanks were conducted. The study was carried out in three phases: (I) a detailed theoretical treatment of the coupled liquid-shell system for tanks rigidly anchored to their foundations; (II) an experimental investigation of the dynamic characteristics of full-scale tanks; and (III) a development of an improved seismic design procedure.     

立式钢制储罐基于地震损伤性能的抗震设计方法

针对立式钢制储罐在强烈地震作用下会产生不同程度的损伤的特点，遵循抗震设计规范的“小震不坏，中震可修，大震不倒”的抗震设计原则，结合三水准烈度，提出了储罐的地震损伤性能目标，并给出了基于地震损伤性能的抗震设计方法。所提出抗震设计方法，更加准确地考虑了储罐的提离问题。     

必须重视大型石油储罐的抗震问题

地震灾害是各种自然灾害中最大的一种灾害，而大型石油储罐则是石油化工设备中震害最大设备，因此必须重视大型油罐的抗震问题，本文从油罐的几何形状的荷载特征等方面说明了油罐震害之所以特别大的主要原因；指出了油罐的主要震害；并从四个方面说明了油罐的抗震理论是非常复杂的。     

立式储液罐地震破坏快速评估方法

本文采用大型有限元程序ANSYS对立式储液罐的地震反应进行了非线性数值分析,考虑了罐体和内部液体的相互作用,得到了3个不同容积的储罐,在不同峰值的地震动时程输入下的反应结果。结合地震灾害中立式储罐的地震破坏现象和特点,以及现有的立式储罐地震破坏预测方法,提出了立式储罐的地震破坏快速评估方法。     

Finite element analysis of the seismic response of anchored and unanchored liquid storage tanks

The seismic response of liquid-filled cylindrical storage tanks has been investigated using finite element techniques implemented in the general purpose structural analysis computer code ANSYS. Both added mass concepts and displacement-based fluid finite elements were employed to allow for the effects of the liquid. Simplified response spectrum modal analyses of a tank making use of the axisymmetric harmonic displacement patterns of the principal modes of deformation were found to give accurate predictions of the tank behaviour with a rigidly anchored base. Time history analyses of three-dimensional finite element models of unanchored and flexibly anchored tanks, with gap conditions between the tank base and the supporting floor to allow lift-off of the base, indicated that stresses in the tank and resultant loads on the floor can be much greater than for a rigidly restrained tank. These results demonstrate the importance of carefully considering the restraint conditions when performing seismic design calculations on storage tanks.     

大型储液罐摩擦摆基底隔震控制分析

针对弹性钢制圆柱储液罐,基于Haroun-Housner模型,将连续流体质量等效为3种集中质量,分别为:对流质量、脉冲质量和刚性质量,与这些集中质量连接的相应刚度取值依赖于储罐壁和流体质量.在水平地震激励下,在储罐底部加摩擦单摆支座,给出了简化的液体 - 储罐-隔震支座的力学分析模型,建立了摩擦摆支座基底隔震体系的振动控制方程,并利用Newmark逐步积分法对控制方程进行了数值求解,研究了摩擦摆支座基底隔震的储液罐地震反应,验证了FPB隔震的有效性.     

Parametric analysis of liquid storage tanks base isolated by curved surface sliding bearings

Curved surface sliding bearings, which are usually called as friction pendulum system (FPS) are commonly used for base isolation of liquid storage tanks since the period of the isolation system is independent of the storage level. However the restoring force and the damping at the isolation system are functions of axial load which changes during an earthquake excitation. This change might be in appreciable amounts especially for the tanks with high aspect ratios. The present paper focuses on earthquake performances of both broad and slender tanks base isolated by FPS bearings. The effects of overturning moment and vertical acceleration on axial load variation at the bearings are considered. The efficiency of the isolation system is investigated by analyzing the effects of various parameters such as; (i) isolation period, (ii) tank aspect ratio and (iii) coefficient of friction. The Haroun and Housner's three-degrees-of-freedom lumped mass model was used to solve the governing equations of motion in which convective, impulsive and rigid masses were included. A number of selected ground motions were considered and the results were compared to those of non-isolated cases.As a result, base isolation was found to be effective in reducing the base shear values for both broad and slender tanks without significantly affecting the sloshing displacements of the broad ones. The efficiency was even more pronounced for slender tanks subjected to near fault ground motions for isolation periods above 3 s. This specific value of isolation period also eliminated possible design problems arising from under-estimation of base shear values (up to 40%) due to ignoring the effects of axial load variation in lower isolation periods. Overturning effects should not be ignored especially for tanks with high aspect ratios (S) and being subjected to near fault ground motion.     

Effect of an oil spill in Spitzbergen in 1978

The oil content in the sediment and the marine life along the arctic shores of Van Mijenfjord, Spitzbergen, were investigated about two years after a spill from diesel storage tanks. High values of oil were recorded in the sediment along the shore near the tanks. The shore fauna is generally poor in these areas and the only biological effect detected was the disappearance of the amphipod Gammarus setosus from the surface layers.     

立式储液罐地震反应数值分析

本文采用大型有限元程序ANSYS对立式储液罐的地震反应进行了研究,考虑了不同罐体和内部液体的相互作用,采用3个不同容积的储罐,输入不同强度的地震动时程,进行了大量的数值计算,给出了一些结论。     

核电结构PCS水箱液动压力分析等效模型

中国核电厂抗震设计规范推荐采用的Housner模型不适用于复杂形状核电储液结构的流固耦合分析。对于AP1000和CAP1400核电站屏蔽厂房顶部非能动安全壳冷却系统重力水箱(简称PCS水箱),基于圆柱形水箱的Housner等效质量-弹簧模型,通过引入水箱体积修正参数,提出PCS水箱的三维等效质量-弹簧模型。采用有限元软件ADINA建立水箱结构流固耦合整体有限元模型以进行模态分析,计算分析PCS水箱和对应环形水箱在不同尺寸和液体深度条件下的液体晃动自振特性。对比整体有限元模型与三维等效质量-弹簧模型计算结果发现,提出的PCS水箱三维等效质量-弹簧模型能给出其内液体晃动各阶振型的液动压力合理估计值,适用于具有复杂形状的PCS水箱液动压力分析。本文的等效模型方法可推广应用于其他复杂形状水箱的液动压力分析。     

Application of 3D Printing to the Manufacturing of Groundwater Velocity Probes

For the purposes of risk mitigation and remediation design, Darcy's Law calculations, that are typically used to estimate flow direction and magnitude, can be usefully supplemented with more direct measurements. The point velocity probe (PVP), which measures groundwater velocity by conducting a mini‐tracer test across a cylindrical probe surface, was developed to address this need. Laboratory and field experiments have shown that these probes can provide accurate velocity magnitude and direction measurements at the centimeter scale. In an effort to streamline the production of PVPs, three‐dimensional (3D) printing was investigated. The 3D printer produces a plastic probe body with designated detector and injection port locations. The subsequent installation of injection lines and detector wires requires, for a single‐port probe, no longer than 1–2 h of assembly time, compared to approximately 10 h to assemble previous designs (mainly determined by injection port installation). Probes can be printed in batches with the number of units made depending on the printer and probe size. Laboratory tests of the original PVP models yielded velocity magnitudes and directions with average errors (from expected values) of ±9% to ±15% and ±8°, respectively. A printed PVP was tested in a nested storage tank system (NeST) packed with sand that mimics flow conditions through a sandy aquifer. The probe was tested at multiple pumping rates with the injector port at angles of (α =) 30°, 45°, and 75° from the expected linear flow direction. The printed PVPs provided an average magnitude percent error of ±13.5% and an average direction error of ±4°. This shows that in laboratory tests, printed PVPs performed as well as the original probes previously reported, making them viable units for field applications as well as being quicker to assemble than the earlier designs.     

储液罐地震安全问题研究综述

储液罐的地震安全问题主要涉及到抗震设防水准的确定和储液罐本身的抗震设计.本文简要介绍了储液罐的震害现象及机理,对比分析了中国、美国、欧洲等国家有关储液罐抗震设防水准,并阐述了国内外学者在储液罐抗震计算方面所做的工作及获得的成果,同时还指出了存在的问题和今后研究工作的发展趋势.     

Investigation and Remediation of Petroleum Product Releases from Residential Storage Tanks

Releases of petroleum products from leaking residential storage tanks are a growing problem in the stale of New Jersey. Approximately two releases per day have been reported to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Product releases may cause aquifers to become contaminated, may affect surface water, or cause vapor problems inside households. As of 1992, there arc no federal or state regulations pertaining to the maintenance and monitoring of residential petroleum storage tanks. Regulations are essential for protecting drinking water supplies. The regulations must address installation procedures, lank materials, monitoring, and tank location.     

Response of tanks to vertical seismic excitations

A method for analyzing the earthquake response of elastic, cylindrical liquid storage tanks under vertical excitations is presented. The method is based on superposition of the free axisymmetrical vibrational modes obtained numerically by the finite element method. The validity of these modes has been checked analytically and the formulation of the load vector has been confirmed by a static analysis. Two forms of ground excitations have been used: step functions and recorded seismic components. The radial and axial displacements are computed and the corresponding stresses are presented. Both fixed and partly fixed tanks are considered to evaluate the effect of base fixation on tank behaviour. Finally, tank response under the simultaneous action of both vertical and lateral excitations is calculated to evaluate the relative importance of the vertical component of ground acceleration on the overall seismic behaviour of liquid storage tanks.     

Magnetic Surveying for Buried Metallic Objects

Field tests were conducted to determine representative total-intensity magnetic anomalies due to the presence of underground storage tanks and 55-gallon steel drums. Three different drums were suspended from a non-magnetic tripod and the underlying field surveyed with each drum in an upright and a flipped plus rotated orientation. At drum-to-sensor separations of 11 feet, the anomalies had peak values of around 50 gammas and half-widths about equal to the drum-to-sensor separation. Remanent and induced magnetizations were comparable; crushing one of the drums significantly reduced both. A profile over a single underground storage tank had a 1000-gamma anomaly, which was similar to the modeled anomaly due to an infinitely long cylinder horizontally magnetized perpendicular to its axis. A profile over two adjacent tanks had a smooth 350-gamma single-peak anomaly even though models of two tanks produced dual-peaked anomalies. Demagnetization could explain why crushing a drum reduced its induced magnetization and why two adjacent tanks produced a single-peak anomaly.
A 40-acre abandoned landfill was surveyed on a 50- by 100-foot rectangular grid and along several detailed profiles. The observed field had broad positive and negative anomalies that were similar to modeled anomalies due to thickness variations in a layer of uniformly magnetized material. It was not comparable to the anomalies due to induced magnetization in multiple, randomly located, randomly sized, independent spheres, suggesting that demagnetization may have limited the effective susceptibility of the landfill material. A different 6-acre site survey conducted on a 10- by 10-foot grid was analyzed to determine the maximum station spacing and line separation that could have been used. Essentially, all of the anomalies at this site would have been resolved by a survey conducted on a 20- by 20-foot grid and the larger anomalies would have been detected by a 50- by 50-foot grid.     

Rethinking rehabilitation: socio-ecology of tanks in Rajasthan,north-west India

In the arid and semi-arid Indian state of Rajasthan, tanks and ponds have been a mainstay of rural communities for centuries. This paper assesses a rehabilitation strategy proposed for 1200 large tanks. It argues that treating tanks only as flow irrigation systems is very likely to result in a flawed strategy. As the experience of NGOs work shows, Rajasthan's tanks belong more to the watershed development domain than to the irrigation domain and a strategy that views tanks as multi-use socio-ecological constructs, and which recognizes varied stakeholder groups is more likely to enhance the social value of tanks.     

Seismic assessment of unanchored steel storage tanks by endurance time method

Liquid storage tanks are essential structures that are often located in residential and industrial areas; thus an assessment of their seismic performance is an important engineering issue. In this paper, the seismic response of unanchored steel liquid storage tanks is investigated using the endurance time (ET) dynamic analysis procedure and compared to responses obtained for anchored tanks under actual ground motions and intensifying ET records. In most cases, the results from ground motions are properly obtained with negligible differences using ET records. It is observed that uplifting of the tank base, which is closely related to the tank aspect ratio, has the greatest significance in the responses of the tank and can be predicted with reasonable accuracy by using currently available ET records.     

Seismic design of flexible cylindrical liquid storage tanks

Seismic response of cylindrical storage tanks anchored to rigid base slabs is considered. Finite elements are used for the liquid and tank wall, idealized as a thin shell. For steel tanks of practical dimensions, design charts are presented for natural frequencies, maximum shear and overturning moment on the foundation, and maximum stress resultants in the tank wall. Furthermore, an analytical expression for the superelevation of the free surface is presented.