Determination of crack resistance of a tank with elliptical crack

Abstract

The occurrence of crack-like defects is a common phenomenon in the operation of vertical steel tanks (VST). Such defects can occur both at the beginning of the operation of the tanks, which may be associated with a violation of the manufacture conditions or the installation procedures of the tank elements and during operation. Over time, such defects increase significantly and turn into cracks. Existing regulations prohibit the operation of VST with cracks. At the same time, the organization that operates the tank does not always have the opportunity to perform repairs immediately. There are cases of trouble-free operation of tanks with non-through surface cracks at the stage of sustainable growth, which are confirmed by model calculations are known from practical experience. The analysis of crack resistance of the VST-5000 tank with a semi-elliptical crack under the action of hydrostatic pressure is carried out in the work. The level of filling the tank with petroleum products is 95% of its height. The semi-elliptical crack is located on outside surface of the wall panel in lower row of cladding. Determination of crack resistance of a tank with a crack is performed on the basis of stress intensity factors (SIF). Direct and energy methods were used to SIF calculation. Determination of the stress-strain state is performed on the basis of the semi-analytical finite element method (SFEM). The SIF distribution along the crack front obtained using SFEM by both direct and energy methods almost coincides and agrees well with the values of SIF calculated by the direct method when using three-dimensional FEM. The obtained values of SIF differ along the crack front by 50%:  the minimum value of SIF acquires at the point of the front, which is located on the outer surface of the tank, the maximum one - at the point of the front inside the wall that is furthest from the outer surface. The obtained results show the quite uneven SIF distribution along the crack front, so that the calculation of such problems requires the spatial setting of problem.