Behavior of stiffened liquid-filled conical tanks

Unreinforced steel conical-shaped containment vessels are frequently used in water tower applications. The failure of one of these structures in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, several years ago, raises the question of whether there are adequate safety provisions for existing conical tanks. The aim of this investigation is to study the effect of welding rectangular-shaped longitudinal stiffeners to enhance the buckling capacity of existing conical tanks and to improve the design of new structures. The investigation is carried out numerically using an in-house developed shell element model that includes the effects of geometric and material non-linearities and accounts for geometric imperfections. The study focuses on two cases of tanks reinforced by longitudinal stiffeners in the lower region: the case of stiffeners free at their bottom edge, which would correspond to the retrofit of existing tanks; and the second having stiffeners anchored to the bottom slab of the tank, which can duplicate the situation of a new design. An extensive parametric study is conducted to assess the typical behavior of the two cases and to determine the critical imperfection shape that leads to the minimum buckling capacity of such type of stiffened shell structures. Finally, a comparison between the buckling capacity of unstiffened and longitudinally stiffened conical tanks that have the same volume of steel is conducted, revealing a major benefit of including stiffeners.