• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.72 no.5
• /
• pp.569-583
• /
• 2019

Tubular steel sections are widespread all over the world because of their strength and aesthetic appearance. Tubular steel members may exhibit local buckling such as elephant foot or overall buckling under extreme compression load. Recently, external bonding of fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) sheets for strengthening these members has been explored through experimental research. This paper presents three-dimensional nonlinear finite element analysis (FEA) to investigate the structural behavior of strengthening tubular steel members with FRP against local and overall buckling phenomena. Out-of-roundness and out-of-straightness imperfections were introduced to the numerical models to simulate the elephant foot and overall buckling, respectively. The nonlinear analysis preferences such as the integration scheme of the shell elements, the algorithm for solution of nonlinear equations, the loading procedure, the bisection limits for the load increments, and the convergence criteria were set, appropriately enough, to successfully track the sophisticated buckling deformations. The agreement between the results of both the presented FEA and the experimental research was evident. The FEA results demonstrated the power of the presented rigorous FEA in monitoring the plastic strain distribution and the buckling phenomena (initiation and propagation). Consequently, the buckling process was interpreted for each mode (elephant foot and overall) into three sequential stages. Furthermore, the influence of FRP layers on the nonlinear analysis preferences and the results was presented.

• Earthquakes and Structures
• /
• v.13 no.1
• /
• pp.67-77
• /
• 2017

Oil storage tanks are vital life-line structures, suffered significant damages during past earthquakes. In this study, a numerical model for an unanchored vertical vaulted-type tank was established by ANSYS software, including the tank-liquid coupling, nonlinear uplift and slip effect between the tank bottom and foundation. Four actual earthquakes recorded at different soil sites were selected as input to study the dynamic characteristics of the tank by nonlinear time-history dynamic analysis, including the elephant-foot buckling, the liquid sloshing, the uplift and slip at the bottom. The results demonstrate that, obvious elephant-foot deformation and buckling failure occurred near the bottom of the tank wall under the seismic input of Class-I and Class-IV sites. The local buckling failure appeared at the location close to the elephant-foot because the axial compressive stress exceeded the allowable critical stress. Under the seismic input of Class-IV site, significant nonlinear uplift and slip occurred at the tank bottom. Large amplitude vertical sloshing with a long period occurred on the free surface of the liquid under the seismic wave record at Class-III site. The seismic properties of the storage tank were affected by site class and should be considered in the seismic design of large tanks. Effective measures should be taken to reduce the seismic response of storage tanks, and ensure the safety of tanks.

• Steel and Composite Structures
• /
• v.10 no.4
• /
• pp.361-371
• /
• 2010

Enhancement in the seismic buckling capacity of steel tanks caused by the addition of fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) retrofit layers attached to the outer walls of the steel tank is investigated. Three-dimensional non-linear finite element modeling is utilized to perform such analysis considering non linear material properties and non-linear large deformation large strain analysis. FRP composites which possess high stiffness and high failure strength are used to reduce the steel hoop stress and consequently improve the tank capacity. A number of tanks with varying dimensions and shell thicknesses are examined using FRP composites added in symmetric layers attached to the outer surface of the steel shell. The FRP shows its effectiveness in carrying part of the hoop stresses along with the steel before steel yielding. Following steel yielding, the FRP restrains the outward bulging of the tank and continues to resist higher hoop stresses. The percentage improvement in the ultimate base moment capacity of the tank due to the addition of more FRP layers is shown to be as high as 60% for some tanks. The percentage of increase in the tank moment capacity is shown to be dependent on the ratio of the shell thickness to the tank radius (t/R). Finally a new methodology has been explained to calculate the location of Elephant foot buckling and consequently the best location of FRP application.