p loading or pressure

k foundation reaction modulus

w normal deflection of beam
t thickness of Wall or Slab
second moment of area of a wall or base section
I
per unit width= t^3/12
E young's modulus
₰ Poisson's ratio
D plate rigidity =EI/(1-∆^3)
x, l distance along a beam and length of beam
K EI/l
h, H distance down a tank wall and total wall height
n h/H
r, R radius of a disc, radius to center of tank wall
loading carried by vertical beam and horizontal
Pv, Ph
ring action in a tank wall
ec, er circumferential & radial strains
fl horizontal Tensile stress in a tank wall
T Tensile force in tank wall per unit depth
lamda t√(k/(4EI)), also
Mr, Mt, Mv radial, Tangential and vertical Bending Moments
Mf fixed end moment
s, s'v rotational stiffness and stiffness Coefficient
Coefficient for bending Moments and Ring
c, ¢
tension
a, b restrained and unrestrained radii of annular slab

Michael D "The Structural Actions of Circular

Tank and Prismatic Bunkers." Ph.D. Thesis, Leeds
Univ., 1962.

Lightfoot E. and Michael D "The Analysis of

Ground-Supported Open Circular Concrete Tanks
I on Plastic Foundations." Civil Engineering and
Public Works Review, Dec. 1963 and Jan. 1964
Analysis of ground supported open circular concrete tank by E Lightfoot and D.
Michael (courtesy of Construction weekly)
mean diameter 40ft
internal height 16ft
thickness of Wall & slab 10inc 0.83ft
Poisson's ratio 0.2
unit weight of concrete 150lb/ft^3
unit weight of water 62.4lb/ft^3
young's modulus E
I=t^3/12 0.04816746142
D=EI/(1-∆^3) 0.04856E
₰H=H/√(R*t)*(3*(1-^2))^0.25 5.24
H= 16.42ft
R=D/2 20
fixed end moment at bottom of tank wall and at
intersections with center of the base slab
MvF=c"gw*H^3 4141.1
c from table 2 by interpolation 0.015
n=h/H 0.06h

also the rotational stiffness of tank wall at the

base per unit width is found
S'v=s'v*D/H
s'v= 10.47924 ₰
S'v= 0.638D 0.031E γ
Pb= 112 β
MbF= 5600 α
Sb=(D/R)*(1+Ω) 0.060D Ω
D=E*t^3/12*(1-Ω) ∴
since thickness of Wall and slab is same D is also
same
the total out bound moment 9741
Calculation of Final Vertical Bending
Moments
distance from top edge 0H 0.2H 0.4H 0.6H 0.8H
coeff from table 2 0.000 0.000024 -0.0007 -0.003 -0.0029
fixed base tank 0 6.6 -182.2 -819.4 -801.7
coeff from table 3 0.000 -0.009 -0.043 -0.059 0.177
effect of balancing moment 0 80 180 530 -1,580
final moment 0 80 190 -300 -2,380

Calculation of Final Ring Tension

distance from top edge 0H 0.2H 0.4H 0.6H 0.8H
coeff from table 2 -0.0093 0.2189 0.4430 0.5724 0.3785
fixed base tank -190.6 4,486 9,075 11,727 7,754
coeff from table 3 -0.288 -0.716 0.048 5.738 16.617
effect of balancing moment -190 -410 30 3,790 10,980
final moment -380 4,020 9,110 15,540 18,730
The distribution factors are therefore 0.914 and
0.086 for the wall and the base respectively and
the distribution proceeds as shown below without
any carryover of moments.
Wall Base
Distribution Factors 0.914 0.086
Fixed End Moment 4,140 5,600
Balance -8,903 838
Final Moment -4,763 6,438

The final bending moments in the tank wall can now

be calculated quite easily, by use of intermediate
coefficients from Tables II and III
Alternatively the coefficients in Tables I and III can be
used, if the balancing moment is taken as -4,760
instead of - 8,900 lb.ft/ft.run, as from the hinged rather
than from the fixed condition. The first method is used
in Table VI.
The ring tension in the tank wall can be calculated in a
similar way by means of Tables II and III again, or by
means of Tables I and III. The first method is used in
Table VII.
The radial and tangential moments in the base slab can
be calculated for the fixed-edge case, by means of the
coefficients in. Table V.
Now the effect of a uniform radial moment on the edge
of a uniform circular plate is to produce spherical
bending, in which case the radial and tangential
moments throughout the plate are constant and equal to
the applied edge moment.
The calculation of final moments is very easily
achieved, as shown in Table VIII
The linal vertical bending moments and ring tensions
in the tank walls, and radial and tangential moments in
the base slab, are shown to scale by means of full lines
in Fig.
Ie.The corresponding values for the base of the tank
wall being hinged are shown by means of dotted lines.
It will be seen that the effect of the continuity of
construction is to im;rease the bending moments and
ring tensions in the tank wall and over most of the
base.
The bending of the base slab forces the tank wall to
deform outwards beyond the hinged base condition.

Effect of extending the base of a Circular Tank

The outward rotation of the bottom edge of the circular
tank considered in Example 1 can be reduced or even
reversed if the base is extended outwards beyond the
tank wall. Such an "annular toe" is subjected to a
considerably greater uplift pressure than the effective
value calculated before and the fixed-end moment
arising from this acts against the fixed-end moment at
the bottom tank wall and at the edge of the inner part
of the circular base
The effective uplift pressure on the central part of the
base could be reversed if the toe was made large
enough, and would supply further increase of fixing
moment to the wall. TIle effect of such an extension to
the base is most easily appreciated in a numerical
example.

Table 8 Calculation of Final radial and Tangential Moment in base slab

distance from joint 0 4 8 12 16
Mr (fixed edge) 5,600 2,370 -130 -1,930 -3,000
M (balance) -840 -840 -840 -840 -840
 Final Mr 4,760 1,530 -970 -2,770 -3,840
Mt (fixed edge) 1,120 -490 -1,750 -2,640 -3,180
M (balance) -840 -840 -840 -840 -840
Final Mt 280 -1,330 -2,590 -3,480 -4,020
 1H
0.015
4,125.7
1.000
-8,900
-4,760

1H
0.000
0
0.000
0
0
b
Center
-3,360
-840
-4,200
-3,360
-840
-4,200
Analysis of ground supported open circular concrete tank by E Lightfoot and D. Michael
(courtesy of Construction weekly)
Example 2. The so that the outer required to find moments
acting modification analysed above has its base extended
43 ft shown in Fig.2a
it's required to find the ring tension acting in the wall and
the moment acting in the wall and base as a result of this
modification
At the bottom of the tank wall, the fixed-end moment and
the rotational stiffness are the ll8.Ille as before. The
effective upward pressure on the inner part of the base is
now due to the differential weight of the tank walls less
the weight Qf an annular ring of

water over the projecting toe, for the full depth of the tank.
ThUll,
Pb = [2". X 20 X 5/6 X 16 X (150 - 62-4) - 2". X 20'96
X (13/12) X 16 X 62'4]/[.". X (21'50)'J

45,400)/(21'50)' = 1,300/461:::::: 3 Ib/sq.ft.

There is thus a sma\l fixed-end moment at the edge of the
inner
part of the base equal to 3 X (20)'18 = 150 Ib.ft.
The net upward pressure acnng·on the projecting part of
the
base is seen to be that due to the depth of water il1llide the
tank plus
the effective upward pres.,ure, po, calculated for the inner
part of
the base, In this case, therefore the upward pressure on the
toe is
16 X 62'4
as shown in Fig 2b.
Now a vertical strip of the wall of unit width is considered
in the distribution of moments, and a lit width lit 20ft
extends to l'048ft at
the middle of the projecting toe, at 20ft 1Hin radius. The
total
upward force on the toe, for unit width of the centre of the
lank wall, is therefore

1'048 X (13/12) X 1,001 = l,136l

and the moment of this force equals

1,136 X (111/12) = 1,090 Ib.ft (clockwise).
Thus the fixed-cnd moment equals -1,090 Ib.ft (anti-
clockwise).
It is asswned that the centre of the joint is at the
intersection
of the centres of the wall and the base. For the Win width
of
the wall there is a uniform resultant downward pressure,
equal
to the excess pressure of the wall above the uniform
upward reaction
under the base. This provides two equal and opposite
moments of
1,399 X (5/12) X (2;;12) = 1201b.ft
about the joint centre, thus reducing the fixed-end
moments in
the base and tbe toe to 30 lb.ft and 970 Ib.ft respectively.
This
~mall modification might well be neglected in design.
The stiffness of a free cantilever is known to be zero even

if its width is variable, as in this case. It should be noted,

however,
that a cantilever on an elastic foundation might have an
appreciable
rotational stiffness, depending on tbe k/EI value. Here, of
course,
the foundation is plastic and corresponds to a value of k/
EI equal
to zero, The restraint of the sides of the cantilever agail1llt
rotation,
as in this case, can be partly allowed for by taking D in
place of
EI; but this cannot, in itse'lf, alter the zero stiffness value
which
applies here, The obliquity of the adjacent sides of the
cantilever
will, however, cause some rotational stiffness value to
develop, but
this will be neglected.
The fixed-end moments can now be distributed as before
with the same distribution factors operative. Thus:

The vertical moments aod ring tensions in the tank walls,

and
the radial and tangential moments in the base, can now be
calculated as in Example 1. The final values are sketched
in Fig. 2c,
which should be compared with Fig. lc for the same tank
without

Effect of lilit A""lular Joint in the

-Approximate "Retaining
Construction joints in tanks can be effectively
wliterproofed
by various methods (3). They can be rnade to transmit
moment
and/or shear or
transmit no structural action at all. It is
practice to construct the cemral part of a circular tank,
rests on the ground, at ~ reduced thickness and without
any
structural continuity Wilh the outer part of the base and
the tank
wails. There is then no bending induced in the central part
of the
floor, which is required only to be waterproof. Special care
is
required with the annular joint to prevent water seepage
and to
ensure that no structural interaction occurs across it.
The outer part of the base is usually made continuous with

the tank wall, though a construction joint at the bottom of

the
w~ll would be quite practicable. The outer part of the base
may
be extended beyond the tank wall as in the "inverted Tee"
type
of retaining wall. It is evident that the outer parr of the
base
will both deflect and rotate, in the general case (though it
might

be possible to design for zero rotation). Now with a plastic

foundation the ground pressure is a constant value

regardless of
the deflection and can easily be calculated in this case
from the
vertical equilibrium of [he outer part of the base. The
fixed-end
moment for the projecting toe, per unit width of vertical
strip,
can therefore be calculated as before. For [he outer part of
the
base within [he wall the fixed-end moment can be
calculated in a
similar manner, assuming cantilever action as for the toe.
More
exactly, in both cases, the theory for annular plates needs
to be
used-as explained later.
With [he fixed-end moments for the toe (if any) and the
outer
part of the base inside the tank walls thus calculated the
total outof-balance moment at the junction of the wall and
the base can
be obtained, since the fixed-end moment at the foot of the
tank wall
is the same as before. The balancing moment needs to be
distributed according to the rotational stiffnesses of the
connected
elements. It can be assumed, as before, that the parts of the
base
have zero rotational stiffnesses, in which case the
balancing moment
is allotted directly to the bottom of the lank wall. (This
procedure
would, of course, be invalid for the straight retaining wall,
but is

because the ring tension in the lank wall prevents

tank shown in Fig. 1& is to be analyserl
30Droxilma"F theory aoove on the supposition that
at a radius of 14ft llin so that the inner
independently (Fig. 3a). The
plastic. The vertical bending
lanle wall, and the radial moments
are required ioe design.
upward bending pressure on the inner
outer p&rr this effective pressure is found
'''.1<1'''1'''''",· - 14'92') 46,700/194
240Ib/sq.ft.
Now
from a 1ft wide strip at the centre of the tank
wall are 0'98ft apart at 19ft 7in radius, aod 0'75ft apart at
14ft 1 lin
radius. The effective upward force equals
4'66 X 0'86 X 240 = 9641b,
and its moment about the joint is
964 X (20
17'33) = 2,570 Ib.!t.
Thus the fixed-end moment for this part of the base is +
2,570
Ib.fr. This means that the fixed-end moment at the bottom
of the
tank wall is -2,570 Ib.ft. In Example 1 tbe final moment at
the
bottom of the tank wall equalled - 4,760 Ib.ft, so this new
value
may be considered an improvement, though it still· means
that the
tank wall is subieClcd to more vertical bending and ring
tension
than in the hinged condition. The vertical bending
moments and
ring tensions in the tank wall are calculated as in the
previoUII
exampl~s. The resulting values are shown in Fig. 3b,
along with
the radial moments In the outer part of the base, which are
found
by simply taking moments.
Example 4. The circular tank shown in Fig. 23 is modified
by
the insertion of an annular joint at 16ft radius, as shown in
Fig. 3a.
The outer part of the base is thus still 5ft 6in wide, as in
the previoUII
example, but it now includes a projecting toe as in
Example Z.
It is to be analysed, as before, when full of water and
supported on
plastic ground.
In this case the effective upward pressure on the outer part
of the base inside the tank walls equals
(46,700
45,400)/(21'50' - 16'00') = 1,300/206
= 6'3 Ib/sq.ft.
The fixed-end moment on the part of the outer base inside
the
wall now equals
3'58 X 0'89 X 6'3 X (20 - 17-88) = 40 Ib.ft (clockwi
Table 1: Vertical Bending Moments and Ring Tension in a Circular Tanks Wall with bottom edge
hinged when tank is full of liquid
n/^H 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
1 0 -0.0022 -0.0079 -0.0154 -0.0234 -0.0306 -0.0354 -0.0361 -0.0315 -0.02 0
2 0 -0.0016 -0.0058 -0.0115 -0.018 -0.024 -0.0283 -0.0296 -0.0265 -0.0173 0
3 0 -0.0006 -0.0021 -0.0047 -0.0079 -0.0116 -0.015 -0.0172 -0.017 -0.0121 0
4 0 0 -0.0002 -0.0008 -0.002 -0.0039 -0.0063 -0.0088 -0.01 -0.0081 0
5 0 0 0.0002 0.0001 -0.0001 -0.001 -0.0025 -0.0045 -0.0062 -0.0058 0
6 0 0 0.0001 0.0002 0.0002 -0.0001 -0.0008 -0.0023 -0.0039 -0.0044 0

1 0.4883 0.4427 0.3971 0.3511 0.3045 0.2569 0.2082 0.158 0.1064 0.0536 0
2 0.3516 0.3574 0.3621 0.363 0.3565 0.3384 0.3052 0.254 0.184 0.0973 0
3 0.1123 0.2037 0.2931 0.3754 0.4424 0.4837 0.4877 0.4435 0.3439 0.1905 0
4 -0.0038 0.1184 0.2402 0.3595 0.4698 0.559 0.6079 0.5922 0.4877 0.2829 0
5 -0.0167 0.0963 0.211 0.3295 0.4509 0.5671 0.6571 0.6446 0.6014 0.3677 0
6 -0.0061 0.0956 0.2006 0.3076 0.4248 0.5495 0.667 0.7376 0.6909 0.4471 0
Table 2: Vertical Bending Moments and Ring Tension in a Circular Tanks Wall with bottom edge Fixed when tank is full of liquid
top. Mv=c*gw*H^3. T=¢*gw*H*R
n/^H 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9
1 0 -0.0003 -0.0005 0.0006 0.0040 0.0109 0.0224 0.0397 0.0637 0.0957
2 0 -0.0012 -0.0042 -0.0076 -0.0104 -0.0113 -0.0089 -0.0019 0.0111 0.0315
3 0 -0.0008 -0.0027 -0.0054 -0.0081 -0.0102 -0.0105 -0.0078 -0.0004 0.0136
4 0 -0.0002 -0.0008 -0.0019 -0.0034 -0.0051 -0.0064 -0.0062 -0.0027 0.0063
5 0 0.0000 0.0000 0.0003 -0.0009 -0.0020 -0.0034 -0.0042 -0.0030 0.0027
6 0 0.0000 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 -0.0007 -0.0016 -0.0027 -0.0026 0.0009

1 0.0995 0.0875 0.0754 0.0634 0.0514 0.3950 0.0281 0.0176 0.0087 0.0024
2 0.2853 0.2694 0.2527 0.2332 0.2090 0.1782 0.1403 0.0970 0.0528 0.0161
3 0.1671 0.2199 0.2699 0.3110 0.3346 0.3222 0.2973 0.2292 0.1370 0.0452
4 0.0349 0.1426 0.2480 0.3448 0.4219 0.4640 0.4541 0.3799 0.2449 0.0867
5 -0.0094 0.1066 0.2230 0.3383 0.4454 0.5277 0.5586 0.5065 0.3537 0.1351
6 -0.0090 0.0976 0.2061 0.3189 0.4352 0.5438 0.6160 0.6035 0.4570 0.1888
0.7600
5 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0003 -0.0009 -0.0020 -0.0034 -0.0042 -0.0030 0.0027
5.24 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000 0.0003 -0.0007 -0.0017 -0.0030 -0.0038 -0.0029 0.0023
6 0.0000 0.0000 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 -0.0007 -0.0016 -0.0027 -0.0026 0.0009

5 -0.0094 0.1066 0.2230 0.3383 0.4454 0.5277 0.5586 0.5065 0.3537 0.1351
5.24 -0.0093 0.1044 0.2189 0.3336 0.4430 0.5316 0.5724 0.5298 0.3785 0.1480
6 -0.0090 0.0976 0.2061 0.3189 0.4352 0.5438 0.6160 0.6035 0.4570 0.1888
nk is full of liquid

1
0.1366
0.0608
0.0362
0.0234
0.0160
0.0116

0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
0.0000

0.0160
0.0149
0.0116

0.0000
0.0000
0.0000
Table 3: Vertical Bending Moments and Ring Tension in a Circular Tanks Wall due to a Moment M applied at bottom
edge
top. Mv=c*gw*H^3. T=¢*gw*H*R
n/^H 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
1 0 0.014 0.054 0.117 0.201 0.304 0.423 0.555 0.647 0.847 1
2 0 0.006 0.027 0.065 0.125 0.209 0.319 0.456 0.619 0.803 1
3 0 -0.006 -0.016 -0.02 -0.006 0.038 0.124 0.261 0.458 0.71 1
4 0 -0.007 -0.025 -0.045 -0.059 -0.052 -0.004 0.109 0.313 0.617 1
5 0 -0.003 -0.012 -0.028 -0.049 -0.065 -0.056 0.016 0.199 0.532 1
6 0 0.001 -0.001 -0.008 -0.025 -0.049 -0.067 -0.037 0.109 0.453 1

1 2.846 2.6 2.354 2.106 1.853 1.592 1.318 1.028 0.715 0.374 0
2 1.09 1.448 1.8 2.134 2.426 2.636 2.711 2.581 2.068 1.336 0
3 -1.514 -0.447 0.641 1.779 2.976 4.184 5.257 5.916 5.713 14.011 0
4 -1.654 -1.034 -0.331 0.629 2.047 4.057 6.566 9.065 10.366 8.377 0
5 -0.455 -0.641 -0.75 -0.553 0.347 2.459 6.159 11.133 15.481 14.539 0
6 0.242 -0.173 -0.607 -0.98 -0.9 0.491 4.406 11.589 20.213 22.312 0
0.7600
5 0.0000 -0.0030 -0.0120 -0.0280 -0.0490 -0.0650 -0.0560 0.0160 0.1990 0.5320 1.0000
5.24 0.0000 -0.0020 -0.0094 -0.0232 -0.0432 -0.0612 -0.0586 0.0033 0.1774 0.5130 1.0000
6 0.0000 0.0010 -0.0010 -0.0080 -0.0250 -0.0490 -0.0670 -0.0370 0.1090 0.4530 1.0000

5 -0.4550 -0.6410 -0.7500 -0.5530 0.3470 2.4590 6.1590 11.1330 15.4810 14.5390 0.0000
5.24 -0.2877 -0.5287 -0.7157 -0.6555 0.0477 1.9867 5.7383 11.2424 16.6167 16.4045 0.0000
6 0.2420 -0.1730 -0.6070 -0.9800 -0.9000 0.4910 4.4060 11.5890 20.2130 22.3120 0.0000
Table 4 Rotational Stiffness Coefficient for the bottom edge
of a circular water tank with top edge free

^H 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
S'v 0.00 1.017 3.915 5.921 7.985 9.999 12.00
0.76
5 9.999
5.24 10.479
6 12.00
Table 5 Rotational and Tangential Moment in Circular Slab fixed at
the edge and subjected to UDL Poisson's ratio 0.2
Mr=coeff*gw*H^2. Mt=coeff*gw*H^2
r. R 1 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 Center
Mr 0.125 0.053 -0.003 -0.043 -0.067 -0.075
Mt 0.025 -0.011 -0.039 -0.058 -0.071 -0.075
0.000
1.0 0.125 0.025
1.00 0.125 0.025
0.8 0.053 -0.011