Dynamic Responses of Liquid Storage Tanks Caused by Wind and Earthquake in Special Environment

Based on potential flow theory and arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian method, shell–liquid and shell–wind interactions are solved respectively. Considering the nonlinearity of tank material and liquid sloshing, a refined 3-D wind–shell–liquid interaction calculation model for liquid storage tanks is established. A comparative study of dynamic responses of liquid storage tanks under wind, earthquake, and wind and earthquake is carried out, and the influences of wind speed and wind interference effect on dynamic responses of liquid storage tank are discussed. The results show that when the wind is strong, the dynamic responses of the liquid storage tank under wind load alone are likely to be larger than that under earthquake, and the dynamic responses under wind–earthquake interaction are obviously larger than that under wind and earthquake alone. The maximum responses of the tank wall under wind and earthquake are located in the unfilled area at the upper part of the tank and the filled area at the lower part of the tank respectively, while the location of maximum responses of the tank wall under wind–earthquake interaction is related to the relative magnitude of the wind and earthquake. Wind speed has a great influence on the responses of liquid storage tanks, when the wind speed increases to a certain extent, the storage tank is prone to damage. Wind interference effect has a significant effect on liquid storage tanks and wind fields. For liquid storage tanks in special environments, wind and earthquake effects should be considered reasonably, and wind interference effects cannot be ignored.