Wind pressure and buckling of grouped steel tanks

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.