Sloshing Wave Height in the Storage Tanks Constructed on Different Topography Conditions

Abstract

Liquid storage tanks are among vital structures widely used in various fields. Estimating the sloshing wave height in storage tanks during seismic events is very important to avoid seismic damage. Despite its importance, only a few studies have addressed the sloshing wave height in storage tanks considering the soil-structure and fluid-structure coupling effects. This paper used finite element numerical simulation method to study the seismic response of rectangular concrete liquid storage tanks. Three aspect ratios, three liquid heights, nine earthquake records with different frequency content, and three different topography conditions were considered. The obtained results indicated that the liquid storage tank models involved in this study were more sensitive to high-frequency earthquake events, and the step-like irregular topography could amplify the sloshing wave height of the storage tanks. Besides, Eurocode 8 underestimated the peak sloshing wave height of the storage tanks when subjected to earthquakes with high-frequency content.