BlueScope Steel (Port Kembla, New South Wales, Australia)
BlueScope Steel required preliminary design review, seismic load calculations and detailed structural assessment/design verification of a 350 kL water storage tank. Design review and preliminary seismic calculations were to be performed in accordance with standards API 650, AS 4041, AISC 360-10 and AS 1170.4 to verify and compare the equivalent static analysis approaches used by the tank designer for determining seismic loads, with detailed tank structural analysis and design verification required applying the spectral response analysis approach with liquid discretely modelled to determine more accurate (i.e. less conservative) seismic loads (considering combined influence of individual impulsive and convective/liquid sloshing modes) in combination with dead, live (hydrostatic pressure), design pressure, wind and seismic loads.
What we did:
- Reviewed tank design codes/literature and preliminary seismic load calculations applying standards API 650, AS 1170.4 and other codes (as relevant) to verify tank designer calculations.
- Performed structural assessment of 350 kL water storage tank applying dead, live (hydrostatic pressure), wind and seismic loads.
- Verified peak component/weld stresses, compared with API 650 standard requirements and determined seismic loads for anchor bolt calculation requirements.
- Confirmed design compliance with standard API 650 requirements.
Outcome:
Avesta Consulting determined appropriate design modifications (i.e. hold down packers, gussets, manhole reinforcement) and confirmed compliance with the engineering principles and intent of standards API 650, AISC 360-10 and AS 1170.4.
