Study on seismic performance of fluid storage tanks considering soil structure interaction effects

The seismic behaviour of storage tanks is different and complicated to analyse compared to the conventional structures due to the interface effect between the tank's wall and liquid. In addition to this, the soil conditions also influence the response of the tank. For realistic analysis, it is essential to consider both the effect of fluid and soil. The present study considers a small tank supported on three soil types to evaluate the behaviour of tanks subjected to earthquake loading. The soil, tank, and fluid system is discretized using the finite elements and is subjected to two past earthquakes. The results are considered in terms of fluid pressure and shear at base. It is concluded that the tank and soil interaction considerably affects the response of the tank.