A basic study of applicability of explicit FE-Analyses to uplift motion of flat-bottom cylindrical shell tanks

Abstract

The uplift of the flat-bottom cylindrical shell tank has been considered to contribute to the various damage of the tanks. The motion of the free surface and the fluid pressure characterize dynamical effects of the fluid on the tank induced by the uplift motion. Therefore, to properly evaluate the seismic-resistance performance of the tank, account must be made of these behaviors mathematically and numerically. The present paper examines the applicability of the explicit FE-Analysis to numerically compute these behaviors. As we shortly see, the explicit FE-Analysis accurately predicts the motion of the free surface observed during the free rocking test of the tank and the fluid pressure on the tank mathematically derived based on Laplace equation and associate boundary conditions.