AN EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF A RECTANGULAR TANK FREEBOARD ON THE IMPACT ROOF PRESSURE

Large amplitude liquid sloshing and applied loads caused by hydrodynamic pressure of this phenomenon are always one of the most important factors in designing liquid storage tank roofs, especially in LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) tanks. Codes approach in dealing with this matter is to provide sufficient freeboard in order to prevent liquid collision to the tanks roof. However, due to the technical reasons, providing a proper freeboard is not always an optimum solution. Therefore, the impact forces should be reasonably evaluated based on the experimental measurements and analytical solutions. In this paper, an investigation has been implemented in order to clarify the influence of various geometrical parameters on the impact roof pressure and force values of a rectangular tank. In this regard, a series of shaking table tests are conducted at International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology. The results have shown a reasonable relationship between roof pressure and freeboards.