Stability of Steel Oil Storage Tanks
Publication: Journal of Geotechnical Engineering
Volume 110, Issue 9
Abstract
Oil storage tanks built on weak and compressible foundations have suffered catastrophic failures due to foundation instability. These experiences are reviewed and used to establish simple procedures for evaluating factors of safety against base shear failure and edge shear failure. Methods for averaging foundation shear strength values for these two modes of failure are described, which make it possible to apply simple bearing capacity formulas to conditions where the shear strength of the foundation varies with depth, and where the foundation contains or is overlain by layers of sand or gravel. Recommendations concerning minimum values of factor of safety against undrained foundation failure are provided. In cases where the first loading of the foundation is very slow, or where drainage is accelerated by sand drains, wick drains, or natural sand lenses, appreciable drainage and strength gain occurs during water load tests. Methods of rehabilitating tanks after failure of the foundation are reviewed.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
1.
Bell, Roy A., and Iwakiri, Jun, “Settlement Comparison used in Tank Failure Study,” ASCE JGED, Feb., 1980, pp. 153–169.
2.
Belloni, L., Barassino, A., and Jamiolkowski, M, “Differential Settlements of Petroleum Steel Tanks,” Proceedings British Geotechnical Society Conference on Settlement of Structures, Pentech Press, London, England, 1975, pp. 323–328.
3.
Bjerrum, L., and Overland, A., “Foundation Failure of an Oil Tank in Fredrikstad, Norway,” 4th International Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Vol. I, 1957, pp. 287–290.
4.
Brown, J. D., and Paterson, W. G., “Failures of an Oil Storage Tank on a Sensitive Marine Clay,” Canadian Geotechnical Journal, Vol. I, No. 4, Nov., 1964, pp. 205–214.
5.
Carlson, Emery D., and Fricano, Stephen P., “Tank Foundations in Eastern 1237 Venezuela,” ASCE‐JSMFD, Oct., 1961, pp. 69–90.
6.
Cooling, L. F., and Gibson, R. E., “Settlement Studies on Structures in England,” Conference on the Correlation Between Calculated and Observed Stresses & Displacements in Structures, Institute of Civil Engineers, 1955, pp. 295–317.
7.
Gibson, R. E., and Marsland, A., “Pore Water Pressure Observations in a Saturated Alluvial Deposit Beneath a Loaded Oil Tank,” Conference on Pore Pressure and Suction in Soils, 1960, pp. 112–119.
8.
Green, P. A., and Hight, G. W., “The Failure of Two Oil Storage Tanks Caused by Differential Settlement,” Proceedings British Geotechnical Society Conference on Settlement of Structures, Pentech Press, London, England, 1975.
9.
Jamiolkowski, M., discussion of Proceedings British Geotechnical Society Conference on Settlement of Structures, Pentech Press, London, England, 1975, pp. 787–799.
10.
Kalinovsky, B. S., “Settlement of Tanks on Reclaimed Tidelands,” Dames and Moore Engineering Bulletin, Dec., 1958.
11.
Nixon, I. K., “ Analysis,” Geotechnique, Vol. I, No. 3, 1949, pp. 208–209.
12.
Penman, A. D. M., and Watson, G. H., “Settlement Observations on an Oil Tank,” Proceedings European Conference on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, 1963, pp. 163–171.
13.
Penman, A. D. M., and Watson, G. H., “The Improvement of a Tank Foundation by the Weight of its own Test Load,” 6th International Conference on SM&FE, Vol. 2, 1965, pp. 169–173.
14.
Penman, A. D. M., and Watson, G. H., “Foundations for Storage Tanks on Reclaimed Land at Teesmouth,” Proceedings ICE, Vol. 37, May, 1967, pp. 19–42.
15.
Saurin, B. F., “Test on a Large Surface Foundation,” Geotechnique, Vol. 1, No. 4, pp. 272–274.
16.
Silva, F. P., “Controlling the Stability of a Foundation Through Neutral Pressure Measurements,” 3rd International Conference on SMFE, Session 3/16, 1953, pp. 299–301.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Geotechnical Engineering
Volume 110 • Issue 9 • September 1984
Pages: 1219 - 1238
Copyright
Copyright © 1984 ASCE.
History
Published online: Sep 1, 1984
Published in print: Sep 1984
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.