Simulation of Sloshing Effects in Cylindrical Containers under Seismic Loading

Past experience has shown that metal cylindrical containment tanks undergo significant damages during strong earthquakes. The main design code widely adopted for these tanks is the American Petroleum Institute’s API-650 code [1]. The basis of this design code dates back to 1978 [2], and uses simplified procedures to estimate the hydrodynamic loads induced during earthquakes. The damage observed for the cylindrical tanks raises questions about the adequacy of the API-650 code for seismic applications. This study employs the ALE modeling techniques of LS-DYNA in order to simulate the dynamic response of rigid rectangular and cylindrical tanks under the ground motion recorded during the 17 August 1999 Marmara earthquake in Turkey.