Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Finite element methodology for the evaluation of soil damping in LNG tanks supported on homogeneous elastic halfspace

  • Original Research Paper
  • Published:
Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Influence of foundation conditions and typology in above-ground full containment liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage tank design makes it necessary to evaluate its structural response due to dynamic actions. Typical above-ground full containment LNG storage tanks are constituted of an outer tank made of reinforced and pre-stressed concrete, which provides support, protection and secondary containment in case of failure of the inner tank and a 9 % Ni steel inner tank, which acts as principal and main containment. Conceptual description of full containment LNG storage tanks is included in applicable normative EN 14620-1. Foundation is a structural element, which acts as a dynamic excitation transmitter in case of earthquakes and modifies structure response. This effect is known as soil-structure interaction due to dynamic energy exchange, which affects the overall structural response. The soil-structure interaction under seismic loads has been implemented on the LNG storage tanks for, at least, the last 30 years. The term is widely used to consider the site effect taking into account the local soil characteristics instead of the simplified approach in a fixed-base analysis. A methodology based on the use of finite element modeling for evaluation of soil-structure interaction under horizontal seismic action is presented and results obtained are compared to methodology included in Veletsos and Damodaran Nair (J Struct Div ASCE 101:109–129, 1975) of characterizing the soil as the standard Voigt solid, which assumes the characteristics of a simulated 1 degree of freedom (DOF) oscillator. Besides, comparison with current formulae extracted from codes EN 1998-1 and ASCE 7-05 will be performed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13
Fig. 14
Fig. 15
Fig. 16
Fig. 17
Fig. 18
Fig. 19
Fig. 20
Fig. 21
Fig. 22
Fig. 23
Fig. 24

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abaqus/CAE 6.10 User’s Manual

  • Abaqus 6.10. Analysis User’s Manual

  • ACI 351.3R-04. Foundations for dynamic equipment

  • ASCE 7-05. Minimum design loads for buildings and other structures

  • EN 14620-1. Design and manufacture of site built, vertical cylindrical, flat-bottomed steel tanks for the storage of refrigerated, liquefied gases with operating temperatures between \(0^{\circ }\text{ C }\) and \(-165^{\circ }\text{ C }\)

  • EN 1998-1. Design of provisions for earthquake resistance of structures—structural analysis methods and models

  • Gazetas G (1983) Analysis of machine foundation vibrations: state of the art. Int J Soil Dyn Earthq 2:2–42

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gazetas G (1991) Foundation vibrations. Foundation Engineering Handbook, pp. 553–593

  • Veletsos AS, Meek JW (1974) Dynamic behavior of building-foundation system. Earthq Eng Struct Dyn 3:121–138

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Veletsos AS, Damodaran Nair VV (1975) Seismic interaction of structures on hysteretic foundations. J Struct Div ASCE 101:109–129

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. LNG & Upstream Division, LNG Tanks Department, Técnicas Reunidas, C/ María de Portugal 9, 28050, Madrid, Spain

    Diego Peña Ruiz & Santiago Guzmán Gutiérrez

Authors
  1. Diego Peña Ruiz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Santiago Guzmán Gutiérrez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Diego Peña Ruiz.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Peña Ruiz, D., Guzmán Gutiérrez, S. Finite element methodology for the evaluation of soil damping in LNG tanks supported on homogeneous elastic halfspace. Bull Earthquake Eng 13, 755–775 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-014-9655-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10518-014-9655-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation