Wind loads and wind-resistant behaviour of large cylindrical tanks in square-arrangement group. Part 1: Wind tunnel test

Large cylindrical floating-roof tanks, constructed as oil containers, are usually distributed regularly in open area and easily exposed to severe wind loads. However, wind pressures around these grouped squat tanks appear to have not been clearly given in design codes or thoroughly studied in existing researches. This paper conducts a detailed investigation on wind loads on the external wall of a four-tank group in square arrangement. To achieve that, wind tunnel tests are carried out on both empty and full tank groups, considering various wind angles and spacing. Results show that 3 regions in elevation can be identified on the tank shell according to the circumferential wind pressure distribution. The upper 2 regions cover a relatively small portion of the shell where excessive negative pressures are spotted, setting an alarm to the design of the top angle and stiffening rings. By comparing results on grouped tanks to those on an isolated tank, grouping effects concerning wind angle, tank position in group and spacing are discussed. Deviations on pressure distributions that will compromise structural safety are outlined, including the increase of negative pressures, the shift of maximum pressure locations as well as the change of positive pressure range. And, several potentially unfavourable wind pressure distributions are selected for further analyses.