Finite Element Analysis of a Basic Wind Tank

The objective of this paper is to perform FEA analysis to establish a baseline analysis for the feasibility/optimization of the sidewalls for a simple wind box. A basic static finite element analysis (FEA) was run using Pro/Mechanica on the wind tank. The tank had corrugated walls, a flat bottom except for 3 sparse corrugations, and header that attaches to the top of all the tank walls around the perimeter of the tank. All components in the tank were constructed from 316L Stainless Steel material. Loads on the tank were then applied in the form of gravity (acting on all parts of the tank) and pressure (designated at 10 psi) acting on all the sidewalls and bottom of the tank. To make the analysis more efficient the model was idealized using shell elements, where applicable. The FEA analysis was completed to compare triangular, sinusoidal and trapezoidal sidewall designs for a simple wind box. The trapezoidal design was the best of the three designs, because it delivered the lowest stress and deformation levels. The sinusoidal and triangular corrugated walls provided a 6% reduction in needed material, but did not produce the same Factor of Safety as compared to the trapezoidal wall.