A Study of Applicability of Finite Displacement Analyses With Semi-Analytical Finite Elements for Analyzing Uplift Displacement of Flat-Bottom Cylindrical Shell Tanks Statically Available to Purchase

The rocking motion of tanks due to earthquakes causes the large uplift deformation of the tank bottom plate that has been considered to contribute to the various damages of the tanks. For analyzing the uplift displacement of the tank bottom plate statically and precisely, this paper develops a shell element, ring element and spring element partially attached to the ring element. These elements are defined as a semi-analytical finite element. Fourier series give its circumferential displacement function, while the polynomial gives its radial displacement function. In addition, the ring element can deal with effects of the large deformation, while the spring element enables to express the partial contact between the tank bottom plate and foundation. On the other hand, the loads considered are dead load, hydro-pressure and inertia force due to earthquakes acceleration as well as dynamic pressure of fluid induced by bulging and rocking motion of the tank. The numerical analyses model of the LNG Storage Tank was created using the semi-analytical finite elements shown here, and the uplift displacement of the tank bottom plate accompanying the tank rocking motion was calculated with the static analyses. For evaluating analytical accuracy of the proposed method, numerical results of the proposed method are compared with that of the explicit FE Analysis.