TCI

Tank Calibration/Strapping
Technical Brief
Optimize Results with Experienced
Personnel and Engineering Expertise
High caliber optical equipment is used by
Tank Consultants to provide the most accurate results.
Critical dimensions are measured by two
different methods and field calculations are
performed to confirm measurements for
improved accuracy.
Engineering calculations are performed inhouse with internally developed software
which ensures a quick turn around of deliverables.

Calibrating Total Station

Tank Consultants, Inc. provides tank calibration services also known as tank strappings.
This service is compliant with the API Manual of
Petroleum Management Standard (MPMS)
Chapter 2 Tank Calibration. The service includes direct physical measurement of the tank
geometry and in-house calculation of capacity
tables. Our services are provided by experienced API-653 certified field inspectors and engineers.

Save additional mobilization expense by

conducting the field tank strapping measurements in conjunction with our API-653
Post Repair Inspection service.

Bottom Contour 3D Graphic

Guidelines for Calibrating or Re-Calibrating

Storage Tanks
1)
2)
3)
4)

New Construction
After Repairs or Modifications
Every Fifteen (15) Years
In Conjunction with an In-service API-653
Tank Inspection

TCI Services, Inc.

4333 West 21st Street
Tulsa, OK 74107-3444
1-888-781-3968
www.tank-consultants.com

Locations Nationwide

Terminology

TCI Services

Datum/Datum Plate: a point or surface near or on

the tank bottom used as a basis for measurement or
calculation
Deadwood: refers to any object within the tank, including the floating roof, which displaces liquid and
reduces the capacity of the tank; also any permanent appurtenances on the outside of the tank such
as cleanout boxes or manways, which increase the
capacity of the tank
Fraction Table: the average incremental volume of
the capacity table expressed in fractions
IFS (Increment Factor Sheet): the capacity table in
increment form
Innage: the amount of volume in the tank
Reference Circumference: the circumference of
the tank measured by the manual tank strapping
method (MTSM) on the bottom ring
Ullage/Outage: the amount or volume of the tank is
short of being full

Customer Specified Options

Innage or ullage
Level in feet-inches, decimal feet, metric, other
Volume in barrels, gallons, metric
API gravity of the product to be stored
More than one reference gauge point or datum
Fraction tables in 1/16 Inches, 0.01 Feet, other
Strapping Tables formatted in landscape layout
on letter or legal size paper

Measuring Deadwood

In-service API-653 Tank Inspection

Out-of-service API-653 Tank Inspection
API-653 Post Repair Inspections
Foundation Settlement Analysis
Corrosion Evaluations
Coating Inspections including Holiday Testing
Floating Roof Seal Gap Inspections
Helium Testing for leaks
Frangible Roof Evaluations
Allowable Pressure Analysis
Normal and Emergency Vent Selection
Tank Calibration/Strapping
Dike Slope and Volume Survey
Verticality/Plumbness/Roundness Evaluation
Roof Hitch Analysis
Magnetic Flux Leakage (MFL) floor scan
Ultrasonic (UT) shell evaluation
Visual examinations (VT)
Magnetic Particle (MT) examination
Dye Penetrant Testing (PT)
Vacuum Box (VB) examination
API-650 and API-653 interpretations
Hydro-test Exemptions
Fitness-for-Service Evaluations
Finite Element Analysis (FEA)
Fracture Mechanics Analysis (FMA)
Expert Witness Services
Wind and Seismic Analysis
Metallurgical Evaluation
Due Diligence
API-620 Design and Inspection
API-570 Inspections
SPCC Tank Integrity Test
API-510 Pressure Vessel Inspection
Repair and Construction Services
Hydrogen Leak Test
Venting Analysis
Repair/Alteration Scope of Work
RBI Evaluation

TCI Services, Inc.

4333 West 21st Street
Tulsa, OK 74107-3444
1-888-781-3968
www.tank-consultants.com

Locations Nationwide