Review of Seismic Codes on Liquid-Containing Tanks

Abstract

Liquid storage tanks generally possess lower energy-dissipating capacity than conventional buildings. During lateral seismic excitation, tanks are subjected to hydrodynamic forces. These two aspects are recognized by most seismic codes on liquid storage tanks and, accordingly, provisions specify higher seismic forces than buildings and require modeling of hydrodynamic forces in analysis. In this paper, provisions of ten seismic codes on tanks are reviewed and compared. This review has revealed that there are significant differences among these codes on design seismic forces for various types of tanks. Reasons for these differences are critically examined and the need for a unified approach for seismic design of tanks is highlighted.