Bottom Shells

[Abeerj]

Hello

How can I decide how many plates I have to use in the bottom of petroleum tank with diameter = 20m , and the shells are ( 6x2 ) m

Thanks

 

[Guastavino]

By plates I assume you mean for a finite element model?

If so, I would recommend getting thing as square as possible (6x2 has an aspect ratio of 3:1, which isn't great for FE models). I would also recommend that you do a couple models, one with a coarse mesh, one with a finer mesh, and see how much the results vary. That should give you an idea of how they are converging. If there is a big difference in the results, add a new model with an even finer mesh, an so on. At some point, the results won't change much. That's when it's probably OK to stop.

 

[JStephen]

If you mean actual physical plates, you can approximate by dividing the tank area by plate area and add 5%-10%. Or you can lay it all out. Actual plate sizes and layouts are based on economic considerations, including equipment available and plate sizes and costs available.