GE July 1976 - Foundations and Earthworks For Cylindrical Steel Storage Tanks
GE July 1976 - Foundations and Earthworks For Cylindrical Steel Storage Tanks
GE July 1976 - Foundations and Earthworks For Cylindrical Steel Storage Tanks
M. HARRIS+
Introduction
petroleum industry.
Nowadays there is an increasing tendency to store raw materials, such as crude
oil and liquid petroleum gas below ground
surface as much
where
as possible
economically feasible, either utilising disused mines or chambers specifically constructed for this purpose. This has arisen
due to aesthetic requirements or as the result of strategic planning.
Refined petroleum
products which are
numerous
handled
in
and are normally
fairly small quantities cannot be so easily
stored underground as bulk raw materials,
such as crude oil, and it is expected that
these will continue to be stored in conventional steel storage tanks for the foreseeable future.
It is the purpose of this article to review
general design and construction techniques
of the foundations for steel storage tanksnot only for those in use by the oil Industry
but also for those in use for storing bulk
commodities generally.
Apart from the underwriting
and safety
aspects which will be commented upon
briefly, there is little difference in the planning and design of steel storage tanks to
hold aviation fuel or to hold calcium chloride, except that one commodity is considerably lighter in density than the other.
From a geotechnical viewpoint the requirement for foundation performance is more
or less exactly the same, i.e. to provide a
safe, economical support which will preclude the development
of stresses and
strains within the steel tank plates that
could either lead to rupture of the plates
or interfere with the flow of the particular
commodity into or out of the tank. Pressurised or refrigerated storage tanks will
not be considered.
Cylindrical
24
Edward L. Bateman
North, Transvaal, South Africa
Ground
Engineering
Ltd.,
Tank performance
Although a steel storage tank is a relatively flexible structure and can tolerate
greater settlements, either total or differential, than most engineering
structures,
there is of course a limit to the settlement
that a tank can be expected to take without distress. Some of the effects of settlement which it is desirable to avoid in the
design of a tank foundation are as follows:
(a) Differential settlement across the diameter which may affect gauging accuracy, jam floating roofs and overstress internal piping connections.
(b) Differential settlement along the periphery which may jam floating roof
mechanisms
and overstress or warp
the shell plates.
(c) Differential settlement between the
tank bottom and the shell plates
which may overstress the shell welds
and cause loss of drainage facilities
for tank cleaning. In addition column
supported roofs may undergo severe
warping as a result of bottom settlements.
(d) Differential settlement between tank
and
external
connecting
pipework
which may overstress the piping.
(e) Overall settlement of the tank which
may lead to loss of superelevation
of
the tank pad above external tank compound grade or ground surface, eventually resulting in the ponding of water
around the shell base plates and a consequent increase in corrosion of these
plates.
The magnitude of stresses and strains
within a steel storage tank caused by the
degree of differential settlement experienced by the foundation are dependent on
a number of factors. These are:
(i) the diameter and height of the tank,
(ii) the uniformity of soil conditions underlying the tank,
(r'ii) the loading intensity, and
(iv) the type of tank involved.
Generally fixed cone roof tanks are more
tolerant of differential settlement effects
than floating roof tanks.
Theoretically, when soil conditions are
uniform below a tank the settlement that
takes place at the centre will be about
twice that at the circumference and this
expected settlement may be allowed for
by constructing the tank bottom coned upwards the requisite amount. Opinions vary
as to the maximum amount of tank bottom
deflection that can be tolerated. However
during the flotation of two large diameter
100000 ton oil storage tanks'he bottoms
are reported to have deflected upwards
about 1m.
From a practical standpoint tank bottoms are usually quite irregular as the thin
plates warp during welding. Due to the presence of drainage sumps which are usually
located close to one edge of the tank, as
well as the provision of internal stiffening
columns in the case of fixed roof tanks, the
actual settlement performance of a tank
may vary considerably from that predicted
theoretically.
Settlements which do take place result
from two separate types of soil behaviour.
In most cases the soil consolidates
under
the tank loading, to a magnitude and at a
rate that is dependent on the type of soil
underlying the tank. The soil and ground
water conditions will also control the time,
after full loading has been realised, when
tank settlement becomes negligible. For instance an impermeable clay soil will take
considerably longer to consolidate than a
free draining sand under the same load. The
depth of soil involved in this consolidation
process is theoretically
approximately
three times the tank diameter.
The second type of settlement phenomenon which is often encountered is that arising when the soil is overstressed
by the
tank loads. In this situation the soil flows
out from under the tank edge often in an
unpredictable
manner
leading to large,
non-uniform
and rapid settlements taking
place. Such settlements can result in overstressing of welds or rivetted connections
and catastrophic failures from this cause
are not unknown.
Actual tolerances to settlement are dependent to a great extent on the manufacturer's specification for continued satisfactory performance of the tank. A common
tolerance during erection is
Smm on the
finished tank pad surface around the circumference. When in use, however, con-
Tank loadings
Shell bearing plates are normally used for
fixed roof tanks where shell bearing pres-
sures are
in
Foundations
General
The cost of a tank foundation can in
some circumstances,
depending
on the
soil conditions, exceed the cost of the
tank itself. Because of the practice of locating tanks in areas which are either remote
or undesirable for normal civil engineering
structures (often indicative of poor subsoil
conditions) it is particularly important that
an adequate soil investigation
be carried
Predicted settlementfi
Maximum
at sheff
< 2in
(( 50mm)
< 6in
(< 150mm)
Tank diameter
Differential
in bottomf
< ~tin
per
30ft
50ft to 150ft
(15m to 50m)
Per API Specifica-
tions.
12mm
((
per 10m)
25mm
((
per 10m)
joint efficiency.
< 12in
(( 150mm)
< 2in
per
30ftt
50mm
((
per 10m)
15lt (50mm J
Specification. Bottom
plates two-pass welded
with 70 per cent efffciency.
30ft
1in per
Over
joint efficiency.
'No special requirements for tanks under 50ft (15m) diameter,
I)Predicted settlements are based upon
(aI inclusion of loading intensity from proposed water testing,
(b maximum settlement being uniform around circumference,
c) differential settlement refers to deviation from anticipated behaviour on uniform soils, and
d) planar tilting of the bottom not detrimental to the tank bottom.
tAlong circumference as well as radially.
tlf these settlements are exceeded then some farm of site improvement is required prior to tank erection.
26
Ground
Engineering
out for all tanks to provide sufficient information for proper design and subsequent
safe operation of the tank. This is despite
the fact that such tanks can normally
tolerate considerably greater settlements
compared with other structures.
Relatively large cost savings and the
avoidance of distress from settlement can
result from adequate advance knowledge
of soil conditions. For instance, the author
was involved in a case where an 85m dia.
oil storage tank was relocated after soft
soil conditions were encountered below a
superficial covering of dense glacial till in
a region of comparative "safe" geology.
The soft soil conditions were due to the
collapse and infilling of subsurface channels in a minor but extensive stratum of
gypsum within parent shale bedrock. Catastrophic failure of the tank during testing
or initial loading would undoubtedly have
taken place if the tank had been erected in
the originally intended location.
Tanks are normally constructed on a
raised pad of free-draining granular material such as crushed stone to provide for
drainage and to deter tank bottom corrosion. An asphalt or oil-sand seal is sometimes provided to the surface of the pad
thus formed to prevent infiltration of water
which could increase the rate of corrosion
of the bottom plates. If a tank pad is not
constructed out of free-draining material,
then precautions to limit corrosion can be
effected by providing the tank with a
100mm thick layer of oil-sand.
Some foundation solutions for varying
soil conditions are shown in Fig. 1. These
are referred to in the following sections.
Shallow foundations in competent ground
Where tanks are to be located in competent soil conditions which provide adequate structural support, then the tank
may be wholly supported by a raised pad
of compacted soil. Before the pad is constructed however, all superficially weak
materials should be removed from the plan
limits of the tanks, see Fig. 1a.
Tank pads may be constructed out of
any soil or locally available material that
on compaction will produce a strong reliable, non-corrosive
surface which will
safely support tank construction and which
on the basis of available precedent will
stand up to the effects of weather, etc.
In this connection it would, for example,
be advisable to use a free-draining, nonfrost susceptible, granular fill for tank construction in areas subject to deep frost
penetration in order to preclude the possibility of frost heave taking place with
consequent ice lensing, leading to failure
of the foundation at time of thaw. In
regions where more temperate climatic
conditions
prevail
an
impermeable
fill
might otherwise be quite suitable. The use
of artificial materials such as blast furnace
slag should be carefully investigated prior
to use, since such materials often exhibit
undesirable swelling and chemical effects
over the long term. Similarly the potential
swelling characteristics of clays should be
investigated when considered for use as
tank pad fill.
Tanks are often supported on ringwalls
constructed either of crushed stone or concrete (see Fig. 1(b)). The ringwalls transfer the tank shell loadings to stronger soils
at shallow depth thus eliminating the possibility of shear edge failure around the
periphery of the tanks.
Where concrete ringwalls are used these
have the advantage of confining the soil
within the ringwall thus preventing lateral
place.
RAISED
(o)
ON
PAD
(I>) REINFORCED
FILL
OF COMPACTED
COMPETEN1
general techniques for providing an adequate tank foundation. These are (a) removal of unsuitable soils and replacement
with engineered fill, (b) use of piles or
other deep foundations to transfer tank
loadings to a suitably competent soil or
rock stratum at depth, or (c) strengthenvibration or
ing the soil by preloading,
compaction methods to render it suitable
for tank support. These approaches are discussed in the following sections.
Fill replacement technique
Where unsuitable soils are present to
depths of 2-3m below surface, below
which a competent soil or rock is present,
then the best solution to adopt, and
usually the most economical (Fig. 1(c)),
is to excavate and replace with engineered
the excavation if necesfill, dewatering
sary. The replacement fill chosen should
preferably be a clean granular soil because
of its ease in placement, handling characetc.
teristics, good drainage qualities,
STONE
GROUND
CONCRETE
ON
RINGWALL
OR
CRUSHED
COMPETENT
GROUND
1,5
TO
DRAINS
BE PROVIDED
0 N S0
DA1
NOTE SAND
TANK
ON
LOAD
CONSOLIDaTED
MAY
SOIL
TO
UNDER
TaNK
PLUS
ATER
0 I4
DRAINS
LOADING
EXTEND
THROUGH
AFTER
SOFT SOILS
DEFORMATION
FULL
OF TANK BOT1OM
CORRECTED AFTER
C OM PL E I ION
OF
CONSOLIDATION
TAKEN
PLaCE
j-il.l JJ J Lj Ljl
(e)
PRELOADING
WITH
I Li>"
EARTH
FILL
ERECTED
RAISED
PAD OF FILL
ERECTION
TaNK
PILES
TO
ACCELERATE
C
WITH
FOUNDATION
TIMES FULL
TANK
SAND
PILED
END-BEARING
EQUAL
BE
2,0
(BI)
If)
PRELOADING
BY
wa1ER- TESTING
LOADING
July, 1976
27
(Africa) (Contracts)
to provide a
Pty Ltd., Durban)
July, 1976
29
roleum
gravity
II
SETTLEMENT
RING -DATE I
North
America".
at close spacing
SETTLEMENT
/[/(/[/[g/[gJ
ON
INITIAL
SETTLEMENT
BETWEEN
DATES
SETTLEMENT
BETWEEN
DATES
It is usual
30
Ground
Engineering
LOADING
IL
2 B 3
DATE
Underwriting
Is
Fig. 6. Earthworks, and oil storage tank construction at Dalmeny, Scotland
is to enObject of the instrumentation
picture of the soil
able a comprehensive
behaviour to be obtained during the process of tank loading. Where soil conditions are relatively simple as for a raised
pad of compacted granular soil on competent ground as shown in Fig. 1(a), the
can correspondrequired instrumentation
ingly be simple and may for example only
consist of settlement lugs welded on the
side of the tank around its periphery, say
at the eighth positions. This is considered
to be the minimum requirement to be provided during initial water-testing and evaluation of tank performance.
Where only peripheral tank settlements
are to be recorded these are measured during initial filling and at regular intervals
thereafter. The readings thus taken may
be plotted in a variety of ways, one of the
most useful being indicated on Fig. 5 where
settlements are plotted on a radial basis
around the tank perimeter. Where settlement rings are relatively close together
differential settlement is small compared
with when the rings are relatively far apart.
This method of plotting settlement surveys has the advantage that a visual impression of peripheral tank settlement is
immediately available. Fig. 5 gives a typical settlement diagram that can arise. It indicates that the northern side of the tank
more than the
considerably
is settling
southern side and that the greater differential settlement between any pair of measurement points is to the south-south-east
of the tank centre.
signed to ensure that they effectively retain any spilled product. To this end perifloor
pheral dykes and the compound
should be leak-proof.
solution
Depending on the foundation
considerations
specified.
Acknowledgements
The author wishes to thank his colleagues at Edward L. Bateman Ltd., for
their helpful suggestions and constructive
comments during the preparation of this
article.
References
1.
1973.
2. "Esso's giant oil tanks a question of more
haste, less speed". Ivew Civil Engineer, 28th
February, 1974.
3. "Bitumen slip layers for bearing piles".
Ground
Engineering,
November,
1971.
4. Penman,
A. D. M. and Watson,
G. H.:
"Foundations for torage tanks on reclaimed
land at Teesmouth." Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, May, 1967 and discussion, April, 1968.
cardboard".
Contract
5. "Canvey settles
on
Journal, February 7th, 1974.
6. "Paper drains go in fast on Quebec project".
Heavy Construction News, March 5th, 1973.
7. "Dalmeny tank farm gets dug in". Contract
Journal, March 28th, 1974.
July, 1976
31