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1SeismicFSSI LNG Tank
1SeismicFSSI LNG Tank
Disclaimer
This report summarises the main steps taken with the Strand7 Finite Element Analysis System for the seismic analysis
of a Cylindrical LNG Tank. The information contained herein has been prepared only for the purpose of
demonstration. It should not be used for any engineering design work and nothing should be inferred from its
results or conclusion.
Introduction
This document illustrates how to construct and analyse in Strand7, a model of an LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas)
filled concrete tank resting on buried piles, and subjected to a horizontal earthquake base acceleration. The
modelling procedure comprises of three main steps creating the tank, filling it with fluid and attaching the piles.
The completed model is analysed for its natural frequency modes and its dynamic response to an El Centro N-S base
excitation. In addition, the fluid is analysed for its sloshing modes in isolation from the rest of the model and the
results are compared to those obtained from a theoretical approach.
Nodes R Z Nodes R Z
1 40 0 0 7 44 0 43
3 44 0 0 9 40 0 44
4 44 0 0.2 10 21.3 0 51
5 44 0 2 11 0 0 53.5
6 44 0 40
Now the 60deg section of the model can be copied or mirrored a few times to obtain a full model. The full
model is necessary in dynamic analyses to properly capture the vibrational mode shapes. This is because models
exploiting symmetry are only able to capture symmetrical mode shapes; in other words, all asymmetrical modes
will be overlooked if a symmetrical model is used.
3
Name Modulus (Pa) Poissons Ratio Density (kg/m ) Thickness (m)
9
Property 1 Base Outer 26 x 10 0.2 2450 2.0
9
Property 2 Buttress + Wall 28 x 10 0.2 2500 2.0
9
Property 3 Wall 28 x 10 0.2 2500 0.8
9
Property 4 Ring + Wall 28 x 10 0.2 2500 1.4
9
Property 5 Base Inner 26 x 10 0.2 2450 1.7
9
Property 6 Roof 26 x 10 0.2 2450 1.6
Select all Master/Slave links and choose Attributes/Link/Type and change all into DR type links.
Then use Select/by Region to select then change the Master/Slave links at the base to DZ type.
In other words, change all horizontal links to DR type and all vertical links to DZ type. This will enforce the fluid-
tank interaction while allowing the fluid to slide on all surfaces.
Choose Property/Bricks and define Property 7 as Fluid material with a Bulk Modulus of 145 x 109 Pa
(estimated) and a Density of 480 kg/m .
3
Select all the beams and mirror them twice to form a full circle of central and outer piles. Or copy them in
three times with an increment of 90 degrees, whichever is easier.
Choose Tools/Clean/Mesh and clean the mesh with default settings to remove duplicate beams.
Choose Attributes/Beam/Support apply the followings support stiffness to the beams (apply the same value in
both directions on the beams):
Support N/m/m
8
Property 1 1.15592 x 10
8
Property 2 1.25931 x 10
8
Property 3 2.64947 x 10
8
Property 4 3.7699 x 10
Property 4 Pile Weathered Soil Structural Steel Hollow Circular 0.914 0.016
Choose Tables/Acceleration vs Time and create an El Centro North-South earthquake accelerogram. Import
the data if available.
g h
m,n = m,n tanh m,n
R R
where m and n are the orders of the circumferential and radial waves respectively, and m,n is the n root of the first
th
derivative of the Bessel function of the first kind of order m. These roots are given in [2] as:
Full model:
Choose Solver/Natural Frequency,
Click Soil/Fluid Options and select the Gravity load case.
Under Defaults tab Eigenvalue section, increase the Iteration Limit to 100 and Expand working set by 20.
Set the number of Modes to 30 and apply a 2.5 and 4.0 Hz shifts and solve for separate results file respectively.
The vibrations below 1Hz are likely to be the fluid only sloshing dominant modes while the vibrations closer to the
fundamental frequency of the tank will more likely be some fluid-tank interaction dominant modes.
The results file name can be set under the Files tab on the solver dialog.
Mode A is similar to Structural Mode II in the previous section but the extra mass contribution from the fluid has
lowered its overall frequency. The vibrational shape on the wall is also affected by the addition of the fluid due to its
interaction with the tank wall. Mode B is another example of this effect with respect to Structural Mode IV in the
previous section.
Note: If the higher order mode shapes of the fluid are required to be captured accurately, it is then necessary to
refine the fluid mesh further.
Mode C is a typical fluid-structure interaction mode of which the vibrations mainly occur at the tank wall.
It is apparent that the frequency of the longest waves is in agreement with the lowest sloshing frequency of the fluid
calculated in the previous chapter, i.e. approximately 0.1 Hz. Combinations of the higher order waves in this
seismic response are expected due to the wide range of excitation frequencies in the El Centro accelerogram. Yet,
these higher order vibrations in the response are mostly damped out.
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Ring Upper: Horizontal displacements (DY) at the upper node of the ring in the direction of excitation.
The seismic response is offset in this graph because the structure has initially settled down due to gravity. The tank
is bulging outwards due to the hydrostatic pressure exerted on the wall by the fluid. This effect can be captured in
the very first time step if the initial condition file is included.
Wall Mid-height: Horizontal displacements (DY) at mid-height of tank wall in the direction of excitation.
The hoop and vertical stresses in the concrete tank can be contoured, choose Results/Results Settings:
The maximum roof displacement occurs at t = 2.26 s, and the corresponding stress state in the tank is of interest.
Choose Solver/Linear Transient Dynamic and set up the solver similar to the previous section:
Solve for linear static results and set the initial conditions,
Use 1000 steps (or fewer if appropriate) of 0.2 s time step,
Assign the Acceleration vs Time table.
Use Full System method, and clear the Damping.
Solve the model with the four Acceleration vs Time tables respectively and investigate the responses.
Make use of the Batch Solver if necessary.
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The DZ of both locations over time is recorded as follows. The peaks of both waves can be seen out of phase,
which represents the first order circumferential waves of the second order radial mode shapes.
Reference
[1] Abramson HN (ed.). The dynamic behaviour of liquids in moving tanks. NASA SP-106, 1966.
[2] Abramowitz, M. and Stegun, I.A. (eds.). Zeros. Handbook of mathematical functions with formulas, graphs,
and mathematical tables. New York: Dover, pp.370-374, 1972.