Simulation for a Floating Roof Behavior of Cylindrical Storage Tank due to Wind Load: Part 1 — CFD Analysis

Floating roofs are used in large cylindrical storage tanks to prevent evaporation of oil. The floating roof is said to vibrate in high winds like undulation of the sea surface. The wind induced, sea-surface-undulation-like vibration may initiate fatigue cracks at welded joints in the floating roof deck. In this two-part study, the authors attempted to simulate the vibration. In Part1 wind flow over an isolated cylindrical oil-storage tank was simulated without considering the motion of the roof. Computed unsteady pressure load data were transferred to structural analyses. Response analyses of the floating roof under the wind load are dealt with in Part2. The present paper describes the wind flow simulation. The computed pressure fluctuation over the roof exhibits broadband spectra and no remarkable dominant frequency. To gain some insights into characteristics of the roof pressure fluctuation and its association with global flow structures, the Snapshot Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD), the Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DMD), and the Complex POD were applied.