Evaluating the Integrity of High-Density Polyethylene Storage Tanks
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 35, Issue 5
Abstract
Failure of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) aboveground storage tanks (ASTs) causes numerous environmental, ecological, and economic problems. Therefore, it is necessary to routinely inspect the integrity of ASTs to identify the potential defects and act before a catastrophic failure happens. This study investigated the feasibility of using infrared thermography (IRT) for routine HDPE AST inspections and how weathering impacts the properties of HDPE. Moreover, the factors affecting the IRT’s accuracy for defect detection were researched, and it was attempted to determine the minimum levels of defect detection for each weather circumstance. This study investigated the potential areas for tank failure for close inspection. Results showed that IRT is efficient in detecting shallow defects within the outer half of the wall. The smallest detectable defect size was 2.8 mm, which varied in different measurements depending on the interaction of sample geometry, initial thermal gradient, and defect location.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, and code generated or used during the study appear in the published article.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Amy A. O’Leary and Lewis Lloyd at VTRC for their help during the survey and for providing the necessary data. The authors would like to thank Dr. David Mokarem and Brett Farmer at Virginia Tech for their assistance during the preparation of specimens. The authors appreciate the support from Professor Fred Whitford from Purdue University for providing a weathered piece of a failed brine storage tank. The authors thank Professor Mike Bortner for helping to interpret the DSC results. The authors would like to thank Mr. Sean Li for helping to prepare the samples for the salt damage experiments. This research was funded by Virginia Transportation Research Council (VTRC), Project 117955.
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 35 • Issue 5 • May 2023
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 14, 2022
Accepted: Aug 26, 2022
Published online: Mar 2, 2023
Published in print: May 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Aug 2, 2023
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