Title: Seismic response of the outer shell of a liquefied natural gas storage tank using a semi-analytical dynamic substructuring technique

Authors: Apostolos Tsouvalas; Andrei V. Metrikine

Addresses: Department of Hydraulic Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg 1, 2628 CN Delft, The Netherlands ' Departments of Structural and Hydraulic Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg 1, 2628 CN Delft, The Netherlands

Abstract: This paper deals with the seismic response of the outer shell of a liquefied natural gas storage tank. The concrete shell is considered as three inhomogeneous subsystems, namely; a circular plate of varying thickness on an elastic foundation, a cylindrical wall and a spherical dome. The linear dynamic response of the complete system, subjected to a strong seismic ground motion, is derived in the frequency domain using a semi-analytical approach. The concept of frequency- and wavenumber-dependent dynamic spring stiffness is introduced for the exact satisfaction of the displacement continuity and force equilibrium at the interfaces between the three subsystems. The ground motion is described kinematically in the form of a Rayleigh wave propagating along the free surface of the soil. The influence of the Rayleigh wave speed and of the interference of the structural responses to the horizontal and the vertical seismic ground motion are examined for a particular case.

Keywords: LNG storage tanks; seismic response; earthquake engineering; dynamic substructuring; thin shells; circular plates; tank outer shell; liquefied natural gas storage tanks; concrete shell; earthquakes; dynamic spring stiffness; displacement continuity; force equilibrium; ground motion; kinematics; Rayleigh wave propagation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEIE.2016.080036

International Journal of Earthquake and Impact Engineering, 2016 Vol.1 No.1/2, pp.98 - 130

Received: 01 Aug 2016
Accepted: 26 Aug 2016
Published online: 29 Oct 2016 *

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