The Earthquake Engineering Online Archive

Experimental evaluation of seismic design methods for broad cylindrical tanks

Clough, Douglas P.

UCB/EERC-77/10, Earthquake Engineering Research Center, University of California, Berkeley, 1977-05, 281 pages (540/C59/1977)

Earthquake damage to ground-supported cylindrical liquid storage tanks during recent years demonstrates the need for better understanding of the seismic behavior of these structures and improvement in seismic design procedures. Analytical procedures epitomizing the current seismic design approach for cylindrical tanks are presented in detail, and their application in a typical design situation is illustrated. Records of tanks damaged in four earthquakes are examined, and consistent with the predictions of current seismic design methods, a relatively high earthquake vulnerability is found in tanks with height greater than radius. Methods, models, and facilities utilized in an experimental investigation of the seismic behavior of tanks are described. A practical distinction is made between tall tanks, with height greater than radius, and broad tanks, with height less than, or equal to, radius. Principal experimental results from the first phase of this research, covering a broad tank model, are presented in the form of a critical evaluation of current seismic design practice.

Available online: http://nisee.berkeley.edu/documents/EERC/EERC-77-10.pdf (9 MB)