Seismic Performance Analysis of the Elevated RC Tanks under Strong Far- and Near-Fault Ground Motions Considering Fluid–Structure Interaction

Abstract

The elevated reinforced concrete tanks assessed in the current work were the subject of a nonlinear sloshing analysis resulting from fluid–container interactions. The primary response quantity of interest was the height of free surface sloshing. To achieve this aim, the effect of the liquid contents on the seismic behavior of tanks subjected to various sets of far- and near-fault ground motions were measured. The variables considered in this study included bidirectional loading, the earthquake’s frequency content, water sloshing, and the three-dimensional geometry. The primary goal of this work was to analyze these crucial parameters through a parametric analysis using a finite element method considering the influence of nonlinear fluid–structure interactions under the influence of different ground motions. By contrasting the numerical results obtained by previous studies and those of the current investigation, the applicability of the current simulation in seismic analyses of the elevated reinforced concrete tanks was then examined, and significant conclusions were formed. The findings showed that the nonlinearity of sloshing may significantly affect the seismic performance of the liquid–container interactions and that failing to properly account for it may pose a severe threat to these structures’ ability to perform satisfactorily for a particular class of tanks, particularly under the influence of near-fault events.

Keywords

• elevated concrete tank
• earthquake records
• finite element method
• fluid–structure interaction
• nonlinear analysis
• sloshing effect