20 JIANG ET AL.

structural performances of the various tank concepts, which

will be described in the next section.

4 | S T R UC T U RA L AN A L YS IS

4.1 | Finite-element modeling of conceptual designs

Figure 7 shows the finite-element (FE) models for both
double-hull and single-hull tank structures, in which solid
brick element is used to model concrete structural components.
Since prestressed concrete is utilized in the structure, the float-
ing fuel storage tanks are supposed to remain in the linear elas-
tic range of behavior at the service limit state. Under this
circumstance, a linear elastic model can be defined. The den-
sity of lightweight concrete is taken as 2,000 kg/m3.
The floating fuel storage tanks are subjected to various
actions at service, that is, self-weight, hydrostatic pressures,
wave load, current load, wind load, and others. Previous
experience indicates that hydrostatic pressure contributes a
major proportion of the action effects compared to the other
actions. Therefore, only the self-weight and hydrostatic pres-
sures are taken into consideration in the linear FE analysis to
compare the structural performance of both single-hull and FIGURE 5 Simplifications of tank wall and base slab in Melerski’s
double-hull structures. Figure 8 depicts the load patterns method. (a) Tank wall simplification; (b) Base slab simplification
applied on the floating tank structure. The hydrostatic pres-
sures due to in-fill fuel and seawater are determined using
pw = ρwghw and pf = ρfghf, respectively, where the density at the connection between ribs and walls, and a similar phe-
of seawater and fuel, ρw and ρf being taken as 1,025 and nomenon is observed in the double circular-wall structure.
870 kg/m3; and hw and hf are the seawater draft and fuel
4.2.1 | Square-circular double-hull structure
level, respectively.
Linear springs are attached beneath the base slab in Figures 10 and 11 depict the critical stress distribution along
the FE models to simulate the upward buoyancy effects, the wall height at the section between the side rib and corner
and with which the effects of varied deformations in rib in the square-circular double-hull structure. The stress dis-
different locations of the bottom slab can be taken into tributions corresponding to different fuel levels are shown. It
consideration. In order to thoroughly evaluate the struc- can be seen that the outer side of the circular wall is in tension
tural performance of floating tanks, five different fuel in both the circumferential and vertical directions because of
level load cases (empty, 25%, 50%, 75%, and full) are the outward fuel pressure, while the square wall is bent in the
considered in the FE analysis. Draft values for each fuel opposite direction. Besides, the fully loaded tank corresponds
level are determined by balancing the upward buoyancy to the most adverse load case for both walls as the tensile
force with downward load effects, as shown in Table 2. stress values increase with respect to the in-fill fuel levels. It is
It is observed that draft values are slightly different for observed that tensile stresses in both directions are higher than
various floating tank concepts due to the different self- the design tensile stress limits (taken as ftd = 1.8 MPa for con-
weight and tank base areas. For each load case, stress crete class C45/55). Therefore, two-directional prestressing
distributions in both the circumferential/tangential and ver- (P.T.) tendons are necessary in both the outer and inner walls
tical directions are checked against the allowable stresses to counteract the tensile stresses generated. In addition, high
at the serviceability limit state and the necessity for pre- vertical stresses exist at the base of the walls, as shown in Fig-
stressing steels is evaluated. ures 10 and 11. It is suggested that the wall be tapered to
achieve a thicker section at the base, thereby reducing the local
tensile stresses at the base of the wall.
4.2 | Analysis results of double-hull structures
Figure 9 shows the tangential and circumferential stress nepho- 4.2.2 | Double-circular wall structure
grams for the outer and inner walls in the square-circular Figures 12 and 13 present the critical stress distribution
double-hull structure, respectively. Stress concentration occurs along the wall height at the section between two adjacent
JIANG ET AL.
FIGURE 6 Stress distributions along circular
wall height (verification cases)
FIGURE 7 Finite-element models of fuel storage tank concepts. (a) Square-circular double-hull; (b) Double-circular wall; (c) Circular single-hull with
floaters
stiffeners in the double-circular wall structure. It is seen that
the full fuel level is the most critical in terms of stress mag-
nitudes. When the tank is subjected to hydrostatic pressures
induced by the seawater and in-fill fuel, the outer wall is in
compression while the inner wall is in tension in both the
circumferential and vertical directions. Different from the
21
square-circular double-hull structure, hoop tension/compres-
sion effects are more critical than the bending effects in the
double-circular wall structure, which may be attributed to
the geometric layout of the double-hull walls
Figure 14a,b shows the basic units of the two double-hull
structures under consideration. Inner and outer walls in the
22 JIANG ET AL.

FIGURE 8 Hydrostatic pressures acting on

floating tank

TABLE 2 Draft values corresponding to different fuel levels

Seawater draft values (m)

In-fill Square-circular Double-circular Single-hull
Case fuel level (m) double-hull wall with floaters
Empty 0 5.77 4.77 5.22
25% 4.13 7.82 6.82 7.64
50% 8.25 9.86 8.87 10.1
75% 12.3 11.9 10.9 12.5
Full 16.5 14.0 13.0 14.9

double circular-wall structure act as curved shells when sub-

jected to hydrostatic pressures, while those walls in the
square-circular structure behave similarly as planar plates
between the side and the corner ribs. Under this situation,
the circumferential stress signs are the same for both the out-
side and inner side of the curved walls between adjacent
stiffeners in double circular-wall structure. It is observed
from the stress distribution of the outer wall that the circum-
ferential stresses are in compression and vertical tensile
stress values are lower than the allowable stress limits except
at the base of the tank wall. Therefore, it is possible to avoid
P.T. in the outer wall with tapering of the wall, which has
the potential of significantly reducing material and construc-
tion costs. In terms of the inner wall, two-directional P.T. are
still necessary.

4.3 | Adjustments to double-hull structures

For double-hull structures, the existence of a void results in
the both outer and inner walls resisting the hydrostatic pres-
sures on their own, and this calls for an extensive amount of
prestressing steels to counteract the tensile stresses gener-
ated. In order to transfer the seawater pressure acting on the
outer wall to the inner wall that resists the fuel pressure, two
modified concepts were proposed, using (a) water ballasting
and (b) in-fill EPS foam, as shown in Figures 15 and 16. In
terms of the first option, different levels of ballasting water
are explored in FE analyses and the half-ballast case will be
presented herein as an example.
As for the second option, a commercial product, Foam-
Control Geofoam EPS29, is utilized to fill in the void
between the inner and outer tank wall.28 According to the
product specifications provided by the company, EPS foam
FIGURE 9 Circumferential/tangential stress nephogram of circular/
rectangular walls. (a) Circular Wall; (b) Rectangular Wall
is considered to perform in the elastic range of behavior
because the deformation of concrete tank walls is relatively
small, and its modulus of elasticity is taken as 7.5 MPa,
which is much lower than the concrete value. Note that only
two extreme in-fill fuel levels (empty and full) will be pre-
sented herein to evaluate the effectiveness of these two alter-
native design concepts.
4.3.1 | Modified square-circular double-hull structure
Figures 17 and 18 depict the stress distribution along the wall
height of the original and modified square-circular double-hull
tanks. The results for the empty and the full fuel cases are
JIANG ET AL.
FIGURE 10 Stress distribution along inner
circular wall height (square-circular double-hull
structure)
FIGURE 11 Stress distribution along outer
rectangular wall height (square-circular double-
hull structure)
shown with red and blue lines, respectively. Dashed and center
lines represent the stress distributions when half ballasting
water and EPS foam is used as infill in the void, respectively.
Compared to the original data (solid line), it is seen that water
ballasting is not effective in reducing the stresses although the
hydrostatic pressure can be transferred to a certain extent.
Especially for the outer rectangular wall, the tangential stress
magnitude increase by around 20% as compared to the base
concept. The existence of ballasting water increases the
23
self-weight as well as the draft, resulting in a higher hydro-
static pressure being applied on the outer wall.
As for the in-fill EPS foam, there are little effects on the
self-weight and the draft values due to its low density. It is
however evident that the maximum tensile stress values reduce
by approximately 40% compared to the base concept, which
can significantly decrease the amount of prestressing steels
needed. Although the rectangular and circular walls start to
work in tandem to resist the outer and inner hydrostatic