Bending Moments in the Walls of Rectangular Tanks

An attempt is made herein to obtain a theoretical solution for the deflection and moments in the vertical side walls of a rectangular tank which is open at the top. More precisely, a formal analysis is made of a rectangular plate that is entirely free or unsupported at the top, perfectly fixed along the sides and bottom and subjected to a transverse hydrostatic loading. In certain cases, the walls of a rectangular tank, may be considered to act as plate with these idealized edge conditions, and it is only in such cases that this analysis applies. For a tank that is square in plan and with a heavy base, perfected fixity at the sides and bottom would be closely approached. If one horizontal dimension is much greater than the other, the assumed edge conditions would not prevail. This analysis may be said to furnish the solution for an idealized case and the designer must use judgment in applying the results to a particular problem.