Design Implementation Of Wind Girders On External Floating Roof Tanks: Insights From Fea
Hassan Omar Youssef
Department of Materials and Minerals Engineering, Ajdabiya University
Abstract
Above-ground steel welded external floating roof storage tanks are widely used for storing various petrochemical products. These thin-walled structures are subjected to multiple loading conditions, including bending moments, internal and external pressures, and wind loads, with wind loading being the most critical factor contributing to tank buckling. This study aimed to design tank wind girders according to API 650 standards and analyze the stability of various tank geometries under wind loading. Three configurations were considered: tanks without wind girders, tanks with one wind girder, and tanks with two wind girders. The effect of hydrostatic pressure from stored liquid on wind resistance was also examined. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) was conducted using ANSYS v15.0 software to evaluate structural behavior. Results indicate that hydrostatic pressure significantly enhances tank resistance to buckling caused by wind loading. Additionally, the presence of wind girders, particularly the upper girders, markedly improves tank stability under wind forces. The study demonstrates that FEA using ANSYS v15.0 is an effective predictive tool for assessing tank buckling behavior and evaluating the combined effects of wind loading and hydrostatic pressure on storage tank stability