The evaluation of seismic vulnerability of atmospheric above ground steel storage tanks is a fundamental topic in the context of industrial safety. Depending on the shell portion affected, on the extent of damage, and on toxicity, flammability, and reactivity of stored substances, liquid leakages can trigger hazardous chains of events whose consequences affect not only the plant but also the surrounding environment. In light of that, the study proposed herein provides an analysis of the seismic fragility of cylindrical above ground storage tanks based on observational damage data. The first phase of this work has consisted in collecting a large empirical dataset of information on failures of atmospheric tanks during past earthquakes. Two sets of damage states have then been used in order to characterize the severity of damage and the intensity of liquid releases. Empirical fragility curves have been fitted by using Bayesian regression. The advantage of this approach is that it is well suited to treat direct and indirect information obtained from field observations and to incorporate subjective engineering judgement. Different models have been employed in order to investigate the effects of tank aspect ratio, filling level, and base anchorage. Moreover, the effects of interaction between these critical aspects are included in fragility analysis. The hazard parameter used is the peak ground acceleration (PGA). Seismic fragility curves obtained from the described procedure are compared to those available in the technical literature.
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February 2019
Research-Article
Observational Seismic Fragility Curves for Steel Cylindrical Tanks
Marta D'Amico,
Marta D'Amico
Mem. ASME
Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental,
and Material Engineering (DICAM),
University of Bologna,
Viale Risorgimento 2,
Bologna 40136, Italy
e-mail: marta.damico3@unibo.it
Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental,
and Material Engineering (DICAM),
University of Bologna,
Viale Risorgimento 2,
Bologna 40136, Italy
e-mail: marta.damico3@unibo.it
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Nicola Buratti
Nicola Buratti
Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental,
and Material Engineering (DICAM),
University of Bologna,
Viale Risorgimento 2,
Bologna 40136, Italy
e-mail: nicola.buratti@unibo.it
and Material Engineering (DICAM),
University of Bologna,
Viale Risorgimento 2,
Bologna 40136, Italy
e-mail: nicola.buratti@unibo.it
Search for other works by this author on:
Marta D'Amico
Mem. ASME
Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental,
and Material Engineering (DICAM),
University of Bologna,
Viale Risorgimento 2,
Bologna 40136, Italy
e-mail: marta.damico3@unibo.it
Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental,
and Material Engineering (DICAM),
University of Bologna,
Viale Risorgimento 2,
Bologna 40136, Italy
e-mail: marta.damico3@unibo.it
Nicola Buratti
Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental,
and Material Engineering (DICAM),
University of Bologna,
Viale Risorgimento 2,
Bologna 40136, Italy
e-mail: nicola.buratti@unibo.it
and Material Engineering (DICAM),
University of Bologna,
Viale Risorgimento 2,
Bologna 40136, Italy
e-mail: nicola.buratti@unibo.it
Contributed by the Pressure Vessel and Piping Division of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF PRESSURE VESSEL TECHNOLOGY. Manuscript received November 30, 2017; final manuscript received April 30, 2018; published online December 14, 2018. Assoc. Editor: Fabrizio Paolacci.
J. Pressure Vessel Technol. Feb 2019, 141(1): 010904 (14 pages)
Published Online: December 14, 2018
Article history
Received:
November 30, 2017
Revised:
April 30, 2018
Citation
D'Amico, M., and Buratti, N. (December 14, 2018). "Observational Seismic Fragility Curves for Steel Cylindrical Tanks." ASME. J. Pressure Vessel Technol. February 2019; 141(1): 010904. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4040137
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