Fuelchief Wind & Seismic Assessments Case Study

Fuelchief Wind & Seismic Assessments Case Study

Background:

Fuelchief Ltd routinely require their fuel tanks to have a producer statement issued as part of their sales, delivery and installation processes.  There are many designs and their install locations can be anywhere in NZ, thus a seismic assessment is required to ensure the tanks will remain intact and serviceable post earthquake.
It’s no secret New Zealand has an unfortunate geographical location where we are sprawled across two giant tectonic plates crashing into each other. This creates situations where lateral and vertical accelerations can easily exceed 1g and in some extreme cases up to 3.6g!

The input factors that are considered:

  • Importance Level of the site
  • Site location for NZS 1170 wind and seismic considerations
  • Normal liquid level for NZSEE considerations
  • Tank design data

Solution:

In order to effectively analyse storage tanks using analysis software, Motovated have developed a robust process for taking into consideration the sloshing effects of a seismic occurrence by using tools developed from the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering Seismic Design of Storage Tanks Guide.

The guide was released in 2009 and it has been slowly adopted by mechanical engineers, as the sloshing effects can generate additional pressures on the tank walls that would not otherwise be captured if the movement of the contents is ignored.  These sloshing pressures can introduce tank failure modes such as elephant foot and diamond buckling.

Motovated undertake the following:

  • Establishment of horizontal and vertical accelerations
  • Establishment of key sloshing pressures
  • Finite Element Analysis (FEA) of the tank components and fixtures
  • Comparison against material standards
  • Re-design as required
  • Producer Statement (PS1) sign off by Chartered Professional Engineer


Results:

Motovated provide Fuelchief a one stop shop where their seismic assessments can be done, common sense design improvements can be discussed and implemented if required, and the associated producer statements generated. 

Testimonial:

‘Motovated have been instrumental in providing us with the assurance our designs are satisfactory and by providing the appropriate documentation we are able to meet all of our requirements’

John Garside - Fuelchief Ltd

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Fuelchief, Wind and Seismic Assesment Case Study
DCD Tank with seismically induced wave pressures for Fuelchief Ltd for Motovated Design & Analysis

DCD Tank with seismically induced wave pressures

Horizontal cylindrical SuperVault Tank for Fuelchief ltd by Motovated

Horizontal cylindrical SuperVault Tank