Dynamic experimental investigation on the uplift response of liquid storage tanks under seismic excitations with different characteristics

A series of seismic table tests about the large steel cylindrical liquid storage tank models with floating roof were taken in this study. Horizontal and vertical direction seismic excitations were input respectively to the experimental structure system under different working conditions to test and analyze the seismic response behavior. The effects of various factors, such as the liquid surface height, the floating roof, the different wave amplitudes and frequencies, as well as their combined effects on the seismic dynamic response were obtained. The absolute displacement and the uplift response behavior law of the test models were obtained under different conditions. It was concluded that not only uplift value but also the absolute displacement of the tank bottom should be considered. And it should be noticed that a critical input frequency exists during the model response changing with frequency. In addition, important factors in experiment were described systematically in this article, for example, the experimental equipment selection, the experimental method, the tank model design, the laser displacement sensors, the data acquisition, the measurement point layout method, seismic excitation input method and so on. A reliable basis could be provided for theoretical analysis, structural design and computer numerical simulation research through this investigation.