Seismic response and damage evaluation for anchored and unanchored cylindrical above ground steel tanks

Abstract

This paper aims to first present a review of studies on numerical modeling and seismic response analysis of above ground steel liquid storage tanks. On that basis, a procedure for estimating dynamic parameters associated with simplified models for anchored and unanchored conditions together with calculation methods of seismic responses and damage states of tanks are presented. In which, the nonlinear behavior of the bottom plate in the case of unanchored conditions caused by sliding and uplift phenomena is properly modeled based on the nonlinear static pushover analysis on a 3D finite element model. Finally, an example of the numerical modeling and seismic response analysis of a water tank is presented. The seismic responses and damage of both anchored and unanchored conditions are compared and evaluated in detail.