Techno Press
Techno Press

Wind and Structures
  Volume 10, Number 1, January 2007 , pages 23-44
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12989/was.2007.10.1.023
 


Wind pressure and buckling of grouped steel tanks
Genock Portela and Luis A. Godoy

 
Abstract
    Wind tunnel experiments on small scale groups of tanks are reported in the paper, with the aim of evaluating the pressure patterns due to group effects. A real tank configuration is studied in detail because one tank buckled during a hurricane category 3. Three configurations are studied in a wind tunnel, two with several tanks and different wind directions, and a third one with just one blocking tank. The pressures were measured in the cylindrical part and in the roof of the tank, in order to obtain pressure coefficients. Next, computational buckling analyses were carried out for the three configurations to evaluate the buckling pressure of the target structure. Finally, imperfection-sensitivity was investigated for one of the configurations, and moderate sensitivity was found, with reductions in the maximum load of the order of 25%. The results help to explain the buckling of the tank for the levels of wind experienced during the hurricane.
 
Key Words
    buckling; shells; tanks; wind tunnel; wind pressures.
 
Address
Genock Portela; General Engineering Dept., University of Puerto Rico, Mayag?z, Puerto Rico 00681-9044, USA
Luis A. Godoy; Civil Infrastructure Research Center, Dept. of Civil Engineering and Surveying, Univ. of Puerto Rico, Mayag?z, Puerto Rico 00681-9041, USA
 

Techno-Press: Publishers of international journals and conference proceedings.       Copyright © 2026 Techno Press
P.O. Box 33, Yuseong, Daejeon 305-600 Korea, Tel: +82-42-828-7996, Fax : +82-42-828-7997, Email: admin@techno-press.com