Abstract
Wind actions are important to consider when performing fitness for service assessment on storage tanks with damage. Tank design codes typically have rules where a design wind velocity is used to determine required dimensions and spacing of wind girders, and a uniform wind pressure is used to evaluate tank anchorage for uplift and overturning due to wind actions. These rules are of little use in a fitness for service assessment of localized damage, as the actual distribution of wind pressure on the wall and roof of a cylindrical tank is far from constant, and a better evaluation of the wind pressure distribution is desired when performing a level 3 fitness for service assessment. API 579/ASME FFS-1 provides no direct guidance relating to the application of wind loading but refers to the American Society of Civil Engineers Standard ASCE/SEI 7. Other international codes relating to wind loads, such as Eurocode EN-1991-1-4 and Australia/New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 1170.2 also contain guidance for the evaluation of wind actions on cylindrical tanks. This paper will present a review of these international codes by comparing their guidance for wind actions on cylindrical tanks, with specific emphasis on how this may affect a level 3 fitness for service assessment of a damaged storage tank.
