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J.M.F.G. Holst and J.M. Rotter

Whilst these questions cannot yet be answered comprehensively, this chapter provides an introduction to existing knowledge in the eld which gives valuable indicators towards answering these questions. The ultimate limit state that is most naturally associated with uneven settlement beneath the tank wall is buckling under axial compression. This limit state is normally thought of as catastrophic, and the strengths as highly sensitive to minor geometric imperfections. Although axial compression buckling under uniform stress conditions has been extensively studied (Yamaki 1984; Rotter 2002), relatively few studies have explored the effects of local high axial compression stresses, and even fewer are directly applicable to the problem of uneven settlement. The extent to which the general conclusions on axial compression buckling should be carried over into uneven settlement buckling is therefore a vital part of this description. This chapter is chiey concerned with geometrical distortions of the boundary conditions and their consequences for buckling in cylindrical shells. The distortions considered are in the plane of the shell, leading to membrane geometrical mists. Where such mists occur at construction joints within the shell, they lead to residual stresses and imperfections of geometry of the shell surface (Rotter 1996; Holst et al. 1999, 2000). Where they occur at the boundary, they are usually associated with foundation settlement, but they also lead to both residual stresses and geometric imperfections of the surface.

Settlement components and their consequences

Dishing settlements of a tank oor Settlement beneath a tank on soft ground is caused by the weight of stored uid in the tank over an extended period. As a result, the dominant settlement is in the form of a dishing of the base of the tank (Fig. 4.2). The displacements in this mode are so much larger than any other that most publications are concerned with

(a) uo u Settlement beneath wall Dishing settlement of bottom plate

(b)

Annular plate Base plates

Figure 4.2 Dominant effects of settlement on tank structure: (a) dishing of base of tank due to settlement (b) weld arrangement in base.