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Procedia Engineering 199 (2017) 260–265

X International Conference on Structural Dynamics, EURODYN 2017

The effect of earthquake site-source distance on dynamic response

of concrete elevated water tanks
H. Shakiba,*, H. Alemzadeha
a
a School of civil and environmental engineering, Tarbiat Modares University, Jalal Al Ahmad Street, No. 7, Tehran 14115-111, Iran

Abstract

Elevated water tanks are one of the essential components of water supply networks that are expected to remain functional after
severe earthquakes. In this paper, the effect of earthquake site-source distance on the dynamic response of reinforced concrete
elevated water tanks with shaft type support is investigated. Six different pairs of near and far-field earthquake records each
consisting of horizontal and vertical components are selected for the dynamic analyses. A two-dimensional structural system is
numerically simulated using finite element method. The fluid-structure interaction is taken into account using single mass and
two-mass analogies. This method is capable of considering both impulsive and convective responses of fluid-tank systems. The
structure is assumed to be fixed at the base. Comparisons are made on base shear, base moment and sloshing responses under
different near and far-field ground motions and simultaneous effects of their horizontal and vertical components. The results are
verified and compared with those obtained from current code provisions. It is concluded that the dynamic behavior of the system
is highly sensitive to site-source distance of the earthquake records. Moreover, two different simplified methods for modeling of
fluid-structure interaction are studied and compared considering various dynamic responses.
© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of EURODYN 2017.
Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of EURODYN 2017.
Keywords: Elevated water tank; Dynamic response; Fluid-structure interaction; Finite element method; Earthquake site-source distance

1. Introduction and background

A reinforced concrete (RC) elevated water tank is a water storage facility supported by a shaft or a framed
structure and constructed at an elevation to provide necessary hydrostatic pressure for a water distribution system.

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +98-218-288-3382; fax: +98-218-288-3382.

E-mail address: shakib@modares.ac.ir

1877-7058 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of EURODYN 2017.

1877-7058 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Peer-review under responsibility of the organizing committee of EURODYN 2017.
10.1016/j.proeng.2017.09.020
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2 Author name / Procedia Engineering 00 (2017) 000–000

These structures are considered essential facilities in municipal water supply and firefighting systems. Therefore,
they are expected to remain functional after severe earthquakes and supply water during power outages.
Nevertheless, poor performance of several elevated tanks was reported during past earthquakes such as Chile 1960
[1], Alaska 1964 [1], Manjil-Roudbar 1990 [2], Jabalpur 1997, Bhuj and Gujarat 2001 [3].
This study focuses on elevated tanks an axisymmetrical RC shaft in which the tank or vessel is mounted on top of
the supporting sub-structure. The vessel is assumed to be an RC cylindrical shell with almost rigid wall condition.
The dynamic interaction between fluid and structure can drastically change the dynamic characteristics of a
structure and consequently its response to transient and cyclic excitation [4]. Therefore, it is desired to model
structures like water tanks with the inclusion of fluid–structure interaction (FSI).
The dynamic response of storage tanks has been extensively investigated by means of experimental and
numerical studies. Such studies date back to as early as 1940s and later by studies of Housner [5] and other
researchers such as Kianoush and Ghaemmaghami [4], Moslemi et al. [6] and El Damatty et al. [7]. On the other
hand, although the RC pedestal is an important part of elevated water tank structures, their dynamic response has
only been the subject of a handful of studies carried out by researchers such as Ghateh et al. [8].
In the early 1960s, Housner proposed a useful idealization for obtaining the liquid response of rigid rectangular
and cylindrical water tanks fully anchored to the rigid foundation and subjected to horizontal ground motion. Many
current codes such as ACI 350.3 [9] and ACI 371R [10] have adapted Housner’s method with some modifications
based on the results of subsequent studies on the seismic design of liquid storage tanks [7]. Moreover, there are only
a small number of studies done on the effect of earthquake characteristics on dynamic behavior of structures
concerned with FSI. Livaoglu [11] studied the dynamic behavior of fluid–rectangular tank foundation system with a
simple seismic analysis method. Interaction effects were presented by Housner’s approximations for the fluid and
cone models of soil foundation systems. Two different earthquake records were used to investigate the effect of
earthquake characteristics on soil-structure-fluid interaction (SSFI). On the other hand, severe destructive potential
of near-fault earthquakes was reported during several past earthquakes such as 1978 Tabas, Iran; 1995 Kobe, Japan;
1999 Chi-Chi, Taiwan; 2003 Bam, Iran and 2009 L’ Aquila, Italy [12]. Such ground motions involving forward-
directivity effect are well-known to bring about severe destruction in many historical events [13, 14].
This study focuses on the dynamic response of RC shaft supported elevated water tanks close to and far from a
causative ground fault. A FE model is developed for the prototype and it is analyzed and designed based on the
requirements of ACI 371R, ASCE 7 [15] and ACI 350.3. Six different pairs of earthquake ground motions including
three Near-Field (NF) and three Far-Field (FF) records each consisting of horizontal and vertical components are
employed in FE time history analyses. In order to consider the most severe effects of forward-directivity of NF
earthquakes on the elevated tank structure, the NF records were selected such that the ratio of pulse-period (TP) to
natural period of structure (T) ranged between 1-1.5. The results of the study show that the site-source distance of
seismic action has a significant effect on dynamic response of the elevated tank as well as modeling method of FSI.

2. Analysis method of fluid–structure interaction

In simplified modeling of FSI for elevated water tanks [5,9,10,16], fluid and structural system is usually
represented by two lumped masses. One mass corresponds to impulsive motion of the fluid which vibrates rigidly
with the vessel wall. The other mass corresponds to convective motion of the fluid. In order to consider the effect of
FSI under horizontal seismic action, the Housner’s analogy which includes the first mode of the impulsive and
convective motion of the fluid in cylindrical vessels was employed.
It is possible to consider the FSI by the Added Mass Approach (AMA) [17] or the FE method. It is important to
note that in this study the aspect ratio and the RC wall thickness of the vessel allow using the Housner’s lumped
mass model [16]. To evaluate the state of internal forces in the vessel structure the AMA is very valuable. However,
an extensive study on RC elevated tanks incorporating SSFI [18] shows negligible differences in seismic response of
the lumped-mass mechanical analogy and the AMA. Previous studies such as [19, 20, 6] also show negligible
advantage of the full FE modeling of FSI compared to its complexity.
Mechanical model for elevated tank structural system incorporating FSI is shown in figure 1(a). The parameters
of this model were calculated according to chapter 9 of ACI 350.3. Moreover, the maximum wave oscillation or the
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Author name / Procedia Engineering 00 (2017) 000–000 3

vertical displacement of the fluid surface (dmax or δS) generated by earthquake acceleration was also calculated
according to chapter 7 of ACI 350.3 using site-specific procedures.

3. Description of the prototype structure

The prototype chosen was an RC elevated shaft staging water tank with volume of 2000 m3 and the staging height
of 25 m. The external and internal diameters of the staging were 8.5 and 7.5 m, respectively. The structure was
similar to an existing elevated water tank [2]. Considering that the tank is intended to remain operational after
earthquake as a part of a lifeline system, the importance factor (I) is taken to be 1.25 according to ACI 350.3.

Fig. 1. Elevated tank structural system (a) physical model; (b) mechanical model incorporating FSI; (c) FE model incorporating FSI and (d) FE
model non-incorporating FSI.

The prototype was assumed to be constructed on site with high seismicity level and soil properties of class C
according to ASCE 7. According to ASCE 7, a response modification factor (R) equal to 3 which corresponds to
special detailing according to provisions of ACI 371R, is chosen for calculating the seismic design forces. The
dimensions and properties of the elevated water tank as well as the FSI model parameters, as per Housner’s analogy,
in full tank conditions, are presented in Table 1. The open source software, OpenSees, v.2.5.0 [21] was employed for
modeling and analysis of the structure. The mass of the supporting sub-structure was distributed between the nodes
of elements. The mass of the vessel was distributed in the nodes of elements to represent the whole mass of the
vessel structure in translational and rotational directions. Elastic beam-column elements were used for modeling the
main shaft staging. Figures 1(b) and 1(c) shows a general view of the FE model of the elevated tank.

Table 1. Dimensions and specifications of the prototype.

Tank Total mass of Shaft height Shaft diameter Shaft wall MS MV MI MC hI hC KC
condition water (ton) (m) c/c (m) thickness (m) (ton) (ton) (ton) (ton) (m) (m) (kN/m)
Full 2000 25 8 0.5 754 720 1280 725 6.6 7.3 1600

4. Ground motion records

In this study, two sets of Near-Field (NF) and Far-Field (FF) ground motions each consisting of three pairs of
horizontal and vertical components were employed. Moment magnitude for the records ranged between 5.8 and 6.69.
The value of site-source distances ranged between 6.27 and 7.26 km for NF and 15.19 and 19.45 km for FF records.
Average shear wave velocity (VS) represented a site class C (ranging between 375 and 750 m/s) according to ASCE
7 for all records. The selected records were scaled for 2-D response history analysis conforming to the requirements
of ASCE 7. Details and characteristics of the selected records are given in Table 2.

Table 2. Properties of selected records.

Near-Field Records Far-Field Records
Earthquake Site-source Distance (km) MW TP (sec) Earthquake Site-source Distance (km) MW
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Northridge, 1994 7.26 6.69 0.728 Imperial Valley, 1979 15.19 6.53
San Salvador, 1986 6.3 5.8 0.805 San Fernando, 1971 19.45 6.61
L'Aquila, Italy, 2009 6.27 6.3 1.071 Parkfield, 1966 15.96 6.19

5. Results of analysis

5.1. Free vibration analysis

In this study, free vibration as well as time history response analyses were carried out on 2D elevated tank models
in full tank conditions. The results of modal analysis obtained from FE model and code-based equations are
compared and summarized in Table 3. The natural period and modal response values are shown for the impulsive
and convective modes with the highest participation factors among all modes of vibration.

Table 3. Free vibration analysis results.

FE Model Code
Tank condition TI (sec) ΣRI (%) TC (sec) ΣRC (%) TI (sec) ΣRI (%) TC (sec) ΣRC (%) CII/R CCI/R
Full 0.71 28.67 4.24 14.78 - 36.79 4.23 20.84 0.26 0.14

5.2. Time History (TH) analysis

The transient base shear (V) and base moment (M) for the elevated tank due to separate or combined effects of
horizontal and vertical components of earthquake records as well as the effect of combined impulsive and convective
responses were studied by TH analysis of the FE model. The TH of base shear under a near-field (NF) record
(L'Aquila, 2009) is shown in figure 2. The TH of base shear under a far-field (FF) record (Parkfield, 1966) is also
shown in figure 3. The effect of combined directional components or modal responses is compared in these figures.

Fig. 2. Time history of base shear under L'Aquila, 2009 (a) horizontal component; (b) combined horizontal and vertical components.

Fig. 3. Time history of base shear under Parkfield, 1966 (a) horizontal component; (b) combined horizontal and vertical components.

As appears in the figures above, for both sets of earthquake records, the absolute maximum values of the
convective response resulting base shear and base moment due to the horizontal or vertical excitations occurred after
peaks of impulsive responses. Moreover, considering vertical component of ground motions in the analysis does not
affect the dynamic responses at all. On the other hand, for NF and FF sets of records, the peak values of base shear
and base moment due to combined impulsive and convective motions are close to the values related to impulsive
motion. Therefore, the convective term does not significantly affect the dynamic responses.
In summary, absolute maximum values of dynamic responses (V, M and δS) of two lumped mass models under
action of all sets of selected records are reported and compared in Table 4.
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Table 4. Summary of maximum dynamic responses of two lumped mass elevated tank model.
Impulsive response Convective Response Combined Response*
Action H H+V (H+V)/H H H+V (H+V)/H H H+V (H+V)/H
Near- V (kN) 7188.0 7188.3 1.00 155.0 155.1 1.00 7189.0 7189.9 1.00
field (0.66)** (0.66) (0.21) (0.21) (0.66) (0.66)
(abs. M 272681.0 272681.5 1.00 5009.0 5009.6 1.00 272727.0 272727.5 1.00
max. of 3 (kN.m) (0.99) (0.99) (0.21) (0.21) (0.99) (0.99)
records) δS (m) - - - 0.76 (1.09) 0.82 (1.05) 1.08 - - -
Far- V (kN) 10942.0 10942.6 1.00 727.0 727.8 1.00 10966.0 10966.7 1.00
field (1.0) (1.0) (1.0) (1.0) (1.0) (1.0)
(abs. M 273508.0 273508.2 1.00 23482.0 23482.7 1.00 274513.0 274513.7 1.00
max. of 3 (kN.m) (1.0) (1.0) (1.0) (1.0) (1.0) (1.0)
records) δS (m) - - - 0.70 (1.0) 0.78 (1.0) 1.11 - - -
* Modal combination of impulsive and convective responses.
** The values in the parentheses are normalized responses with respect to far-field category results.

The peak values of base shear of two lumped mass models under action of NF records are about 34% lower than
those values calculated for far-field records. However, the maximum values of base moment calculated under action
of NF records are slightly different (less than 1%) than those under action of far-field records. As it was shown for
single record comparisons in figures 3 and 4, the effect of combined directional components or modal responses on
the peak responses are less than 1%. Besides, the design base shear (Vd) obtained from current code for the two-mass
model (7094 kN) is about 35% and 2% lower than the values calculated for FF and NF records respectively.
As was mentioned before, the maximum sloshing height of the fluid (δS) was calculated using site specific
procedures of current codes by considering the spectral displacement (Sd) corresponding to convective motion based
on MCE level of the selected records. Accordingly, the peak values of sloshing under action of NF records for
separate and combined effect of directional components are respectively about 9% and 5% higher than those
calculated under action of far-field records. The maximum effect of combined horizontal and vertical components of
records on sloshing displacement is for far-field records, increasing the δS value about 11%. It shall be noted that the
maximum sloshing displacement calculated by current codes (1.4 m) is about 70% to 100% higher than those
calculated by TH analysis. Therefore, lower freeboard is required. Similarly, a summary of the dynamic responses
obtained for single lumped mass model, under NF and FF excitations are provided in Table 5.

Table 5. Summary of maximum dynamic responses of single lumped mass elevated tank model (non-interacting).
Impulsive response Code
Category of Records Action H H+V (H+V)/H Vd (kN)
Near-field (abs. max. of 3 records) V(kN) 11309.0 (1.34) 11309.9 (1.34) 1.00 8179.2
M (kN.m) 356866.6 (1.35) 356866.8 (1.35) 1.00
Far-field (abs. max. of 3 records) V(kN) 8444.0 (1.00) 8444.8 (1.00) 1.00 8179.2
M (kN.m) 263554.0 (1.00) 263554.3 (1.00) 1.00

The peak values of base shear and base moment of the single lumped mass model under near-field records are
about 35% higher than those values calculated for far-field records. Accordingly, the maximum values of base shear
and base moment of single lumped mass model under far-field records are respectively about 23% and 4% lower
than those values obtained from the two lumped mass model. Moreover, for near-field records, the same peak
responses of single-mass model are respectively about 57% and 31% higher than those obtained from the two-mass
model. On the other hand, the design base shear (Vd) obtained from current code for the single-mass model is about
4% and 28% lower than the values calculated for far-field and near-field records respectively.

6. Conclusions

The effect of site-source distance of earthquake excitation on the dynamic response of RC shaft elevated water
tanks was investigated using TH analysis and FE models with and without inclusion of FSI.
It was concluded that for both sets of records, considering vertical component of ground motions in the analysis
does not affect the dynamic force responses at all but it increases the sloshing response. Moreover, the modal
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6 Author name / Procedia Engineering 00 (2017) 000–000

participation of convective motion in dynamic force responses is very little in both sets of records, but it’s higher for
far-field records and at the most participates in about 8% of the combined response.
In the two lumped mass model, the peak base shear under action of NF records is lower than FF records, but the
peak base moment is almost the same, but the difference in convective response is higher. Moreover, the sloshing
displacement and required freeboard is about 9% higher for NF records. This is largely because of the displacement
sensitivity of NF records.
Unlike the two-mass model, in single lumped mass analogy, the peak base shear and moment under action of NF
records are higher than FF records. Accordingly, the peak values of this model are lower for FF records and higher
for NF records than those of the two-mass model. This mainly shows that the effect of FSI inclusion on the dynamic
response of elevated water tanks is higher for NF records than that for FF records.
It should be noted that neither of the simplified models of FSI, can properly capture the effect of the vertical
component on the dynamic responses of either NF or FF earthquake records. More precise models of FSI are
required to investigate the effect of the vertical component on the response of elevated tanks. Moreover, these
results are based on the case presented here and are affected by characteristics of earthquake records selected and
used in the analysis. Study of the structure dynamic response in a more generalized setting is subject of future work.

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER) for providing
databases and sets of ground motions.

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