=ounca:ions anc ear: swor ~s 'or

cy inc rica s:ee s:orace:an~s

by GRAHAM

M. HARRIS+

Introduction

steel storcommon use for the

FOR MANY YEARS cylindrical

age tanks have been in

storage of many industrial raw materials
and products. One major industry that has
up to the present been heavily committed
to using steel storage tanks has been the

petroleum industry.
Nowadays there is an increasing tendency to store raw materials, such as crude
oil and liquid petroleum gas below ground
surface as much
where
as possible
economically feasible, either utilising disused mines or chambers specifically constructed for this purpose. This has arisen
due to aesthetic requirements or as the result of strategic planning.
Refined petroleum
products which are
numerous
handled
in
and are normally
fairly small quantities cannot be so easily
stored underground as bulk raw materials,
such as crude oil, and it is expected that
these will continue to be stored in conventional steel storage tanks for the foreseeable future.
It is the purpose of this article to review
general design and construction techniques
of the foundations for steel storage tanksnot only for those in use by the oil Industry
but also for those in use for storing bulk
commodities generally.
Apart from the underwriting
and safety
aspects which will be commented upon
briefly, there is little difference in the planning and design of steel storage tanks to
hold aviation fuel or to hold calcium chloride, except that one commodity is considerably lighter in density than the other.
From a geotechnical viewpoint the requirement for foundation performance is more
or less exactly the same, i.e. to provide a
safe, economical support which will preclude the development
of stresses and
strains within the steel tank plates that
could either lead to rupture of the plates
or interfere with the flow of the particular
commodity into or out of the tank. Pressurised or refrigerated storage tanks will
not be considered.

Nature of storage tanks

steel tanks that are used for the
retention of bulk materials at normal at-

Cylindrical

mospheric pressure are of two basic types,

either fixed roof or floating roof. When
empty the tanks are very light structures
and can be moved if necessary by flotation
in a shallow depth of water. For example
two 100000 ton oil tanks were floated in
less than 1m of water after the foundation
for one tank had failed during water testing
and the foundation for the second tank had
been condemned at Fawley Refinery, England'.
Because of the thin steel wall and roof
sections involved, the design, construction,
maintenance and servicing of steel storage
tanks give rise to some unique problems
especially when soft ground conditions
*Senior Civil Engineer,
Bokshurg

24

Edward L. Bateman
North, Transvaal, South Africa

Ground

Engineering

Ltd.,

have to be overcome during construction.

Further problems are generated because
unlike the majority of civil engineering
structures, the dead load is relatively small
in proportion to the considerable variation
in storage loads that is usually involved.
Storage tanks can vary in diameter from
a minimum of about 10m to almost 100m
for the largest diameter floating roof tanks
used for crude oil storage.
Fixed roof tanks usually have a conical
roof shape and are normally chosen for
storage of bulk commodities that are either
volatile and inflammable, such as gasoline
where the prevention of leakage is of paramount importance, or where the volume of
storage required is small. They are often
chosen in situations where regular maintenance and inspection is difficult to carry
out, and where ground conditions affect
the satisfactory foundation performance of
floating roof tanks.
Floating roof tanks, as the name implies,
possess roofs which float on the surface of
the retained fluid, the roof being supported
on one or more pontoons that are guided
on columns. Of necessity floating roof
tanks incorporate a number of seals round
the periphery to prevent leakage and although these seals normally have a long life
floating roof tanks are not normally considered for retention of volatile inflammable
fluids or fluids having a slurry type of composition, such as calcium chloride.
Steel storage tanks have been used in
Canada for the storage of grain; these are
however, of fixed roof design.

Tank performance

Although a steel storage tank is a relatively flexible structure and can tolerate
greater settlements, either total or differential, than most engineering
structures,
there is of course a limit to the settlement
that a tank can be expected to take without distress. Some of the effects of settlement which it is desirable to avoid in the
design of a tank foundation are as follows:
(a) Differential settlement across the diameter which may affect gauging accuracy, jam floating roofs and overstress internal piping connections.
(b) Differential settlement along the periphery which may jam floating roof
mechanisms
and overstress or warp
the shell plates.
(c) Differential settlement between the
tank bottom and the shell plates
which may overstress the shell welds
and cause loss of drainage facilities
for tank cleaning. In addition column
supported roofs may undergo severe
warping as a result of bottom settlements.
(d) Differential settlement between tank
and
external
connecting
pipework
which may overstress the piping.
(e) Overall settlement of the tank which
may lead to loss of superelevation
of
the tank pad above external tank compound grade or ground surface, eventually resulting in the ponding of water

around the shell base plates and a consequent increase in corrosion of these
plates.
The magnitude of stresses and strains
within a steel storage tank caused by the
degree of differential settlement experienced by the foundation are dependent on
a number of factors. These are:
(i) the diameter and height of the tank,
(ii) the uniformity of soil conditions underlying the tank,
(r'ii) the loading intensity, and
(iv) the type of tank involved.
Generally fixed cone roof tanks are more
tolerant of differential settlement effects
than floating roof tanks.
Theoretically, when soil conditions are
uniform below a tank the settlement that
takes place at the centre will be about
twice that at the circumference and this
expected settlement may be allowed for
by constructing the tank bottom coned upwards the requisite amount. Opinions vary
as to the maximum amount of tank bottom
deflection that can be tolerated. However
during the flotation of two large diameter
100000 ton oil storage tanks'he bottoms
are reported to have deflected upwards
about 1m.
From a practical standpoint tank bottoms are usually quite irregular as the thin
plates warp during welding. Due to the presence of drainage sumps which are usually
located close to one edge of the tank, as
well as the provision of internal stiffening
columns in the case of fixed roof tanks, the
actual settlement performance of a tank
may vary considerably from that predicted
theoretically.
Settlements which do take place result
from two separate types of soil behaviour.
In most cases the soil consolidates
under
the tank loading, to a magnitude and at a
rate that is dependent on the type of soil
underlying the tank. The soil and ground
water conditions will also control the time,
after full loading has been realised, when
tank settlement becomes negligible. For instance an impermeable clay soil will take
considerably longer to consolidate than a
free draining sand under the same load. The
depth of soil involved in this consolidation
process is theoretically
approximately
three times the tank diameter.
The second type of settlement phenomenon which is often encountered is that arising when the soil is overstressed
by the
tank loads. In this situation the soil flows
out from under the tank edge often in an
unpredictable
manner
leading to large,
non-uniform
and rapid settlements taking
place. Such settlements can result in overstressing of welds or rivetted connections
and catastrophic failures from this cause
are not unknown.
Actual tolerances to settlement are dependent to a great extent on the manufacturer's specification for continued satisfactory performance of the tank. A common
tolerance during erection is
Smm on the
finished tank pad surface around the circumference. When in use, however, con-

siderable settlements can be tolerated deand it is not

pending on circumstances,
unknown
for tanks to have experienced
total settlements of up to 600mm without
being seriously impaired.
As far as differential settlement is concerned a common criterion for performance
of a tank shell is 25mm per 30m measured
along the tank perimeter. Tighter tolerances than these are however more commonly specified and for large (i.e. over
60m) diameter floating roof tanks the following performance requirements are considered more desirable:
(i) 5mm maximum differential settlement
in 10m of perimeter length as a combined result of pad construction, tank
erection, water testing and ultimate
likely soil settlement,
differential
(ii) 25mm maximum
tilting
across the tank diameter, and
(iii) 25mm maximum differential settlement
for every 10m of tank bottom measured lineally in any direction.
A table indicating the desirable form of
bottom plate construction dependent on
the predicted settlements around the tank
shell and across the bottom is given in
Table I. No special requirements are necessary for tanks less than 50ft (15m) diameter. Where settlements larger than those
indicated are predicted then some form of
site improvement or provision of structural
support to the tank is necessary.
A special case of tank settlement for
fixed roof tanks arises when planar tilt
takes place through the points of maximum
and minimum settlement. With regard to
the design of bottom plates, only nonplanar differential settlement of the shell
becomes of consequence. For floating roof
tanks this type of tilting may or may not
affect the performance of tanks depending
on the circumstances and the degree of tilt.

Tank loadings
Shell bearing plates are normally used for
fixed roof tanks where shell bearing pres-

sures are

in

excess of about 100 kilopascals

TABLE I.

or where floating roof tanks are involved.

These reduce the tendency for "punchingin" of the shell or localised edge bearing
failure taking place, and also assist in reducing perimeter differential settlements.
Large size cone roof tanks have their
roofs supported
on columns
and generally a centre column; up to three rings
of interior columns can be involved depending on the tank diameter. The dead
load on columns normally ranges from 50
to 100kN whereas live load can add a
further 100 to 150kN per column. This is
in
important
regions where
especially
of snow can be exlarge accumulations
pected. Maximum column load can thus
range up to 250kN.
Such columns are usually carried on
square base plates 20 to 25mm thick
whose dimensions are dependent on permissible soil loading. The soil pressure
beneath such column loading can be estimated either on the net base plate area
provided or alternatively based on the assumption that the effect of the tank bottom plates is to enlarge the column base
plates by a certain amount dependent on
the thickness of the tank bottom plates.
Column loading is additive to that imposed by the tank fluid contents and is operative
in
the tank empty
condition.
Actual stress distributions within the soil
are affected by the tank bottom plate
thickness and type of construction and
whether these are crowned up or down.
This also dictates the pattern of tank
settlement which subsequently develops.

Foundations
General
The cost of a tank foundation can in
some circumstances,
depending
on the
soil conditions, exceed the cost of the
tank itself. Because of the practice of locating tanks in areas which are either remote
or undesirable for normal civil engineering
structures (often indicative of poor subsoil
conditions) it is particularly important that
an adequate soil investigation
be carried

TANK BOTTOM DESIGN REQUIREMENTS+

Predicted settlementfi
Maximum
at sheff

< 2in

(( 50mm)
< 6in
(< 150mm)

Tank diameter

Differential

in bottomf

< ~tin

per

30ft

50ft to 150ft
(15m to 50m)
Per API Specifica-

tions.

12mm
((
per 10m)

Annular plates of 2ft

(600mm) minimum

25mm
((
per 10m)

width. Bottom plates

two-pass welded
with 70 per cent

joint efficiency.

< 12in

(( 150mm)

< 2in

per

30ftt

50mm
((
per 10m)

15lt (50mm J

Annular plates of 2ft

(600mm) minimum width
when trimmed per API

Specification. Bottom
plates two-pass welded
with 70 per cent efffciency.

30ft

1in per

Over

Annular plates of 2ft

(600mm) minimum

width. Bottom plates

two-pass welded
with 70 per cent
joint efficiency.

Annular plates of 3ft

(1 000mm) minimum
width when trimmed per
API Specifications. Bottom

plates two-pass welded

with 70 per cent joint
efficiency.
Annular plates of 6ft
(2 000mm) minimum
width when trimmed per
API Specifications. Bottom
plates minimum two-pass
welded with 80 per cent

joint efficiency.
'No special requirements for tanks under 50ft (15m) diameter,
I)Predicted settlements are based upon
(aI inclusion of loading intensity from proposed water testing,
(b maximum settlement being uniform around circumference,
c) differential settlement refers to deviation from anticipated behaviour on uniform soils, and
d) planar tilting of the bottom not detrimental to the tank bottom.
tAlong circumference as well as radially.
tlf these settlements are exceeded then some farm of site improvement is required prior to tank erection.

26

Ground

Engineering

out for all tanks to provide sufficient information for proper design and subsequent
safe operation of the tank. This is despite
the fact that such tanks can normally
tolerate considerably greater settlements
compared with other structures.
Relatively large cost savings and the
avoidance of distress from settlement can
result from adequate advance knowledge
of soil conditions. For instance, the author
was involved in a case where an 85m dia.
oil storage tank was relocated after soft
soil conditions were encountered below a
superficial covering of dense glacial till in
a region of comparative "safe" geology.
The soft soil conditions were due to the
collapse and infilling of subsurface channels in a minor but extensive stratum of
gypsum within parent shale bedrock. Catastrophic failure of the tank during testing
or initial loading would undoubtedly have
taken place if the tank had been erected in
the originally intended location.
Tanks are normally constructed on a
raised pad of free-draining granular material such as crushed stone to provide for
drainage and to deter tank bottom corrosion. An asphalt or oil-sand seal is sometimes provided to the surface of the pad
thus formed to prevent infiltration of water
which could increase the rate of corrosion
of the bottom plates. If a tank pad is not
constructed out of free-draining material,
then precautions to limit corrosion can be
effected by providing the tank with a
100mm thick layer of oil-sand.
Some foundation solutions for varying
soil conditions are shown in Fig. 1. These
are referred to in the following sections.
Shallow foundations in competent ground
Where tanks are to be located in competent soil conditions which provide adequate structural support, then the tank
may be wholly supported by a raised pad
of compacted soil. Before the pad is constructed however, all superficially weak
materials should be removed from the plan
limits of the tanks, see Fig. 1a.
Tank pads may be constructed out of
any soil or locally available material that
on compaction will produce a strong reliable, non-corrosive
surface which will
safely support tank construction and which
on the basis of available precedent will
stand up to the effects of weather, etc.
In this connection it would, for example,
be advisable to use a free-draining, nonfrost susceptible, granular fill for tank construction in areas subject to deep frost
penetration in order to preclude the possibility of frost heave taking place with
consequent ice lensing, leading to failure
of the foundation at time of thaw. In
regions where more temperate climatic
conditions
prevail
an
impermeable
fill
might otherwise be quite suitable. The use
of artificial materials such as blast furnace
slag should be carefully investigated prior
to use, since such materials often exhibit
undesirable swelling and chemical effects
over the long term. Similarly the potential
swelling characteristics of clays should be
investigated when considered for use as
tank pad fill.
Tanks are often supported on ringwalls
constructed either of crushed stone or concrete (see Fig. 1(b)). The ringwalls transfer the tank shell loadings to stronger soils
at shallow depth thus eliminating the possibility of shear edge failure around the
periphery of the tanks.
Where concrete ringwalls are used these
have the advantage of confining the soil
within the ringwall thus preventing lateral

movement of the soil under full tank load.

With this type of support system, however, it is important that the soil be well
compacted within the ringwall otherwise
high shearing stresses can develop in the
tank bottom above the point of contact between the retained soil and the concrete
ringwall.
An alternative to seating the tank shell
on a concrete ringwall is to locate it within
the ringwall directly on the retained soil.
In this situation
the ringwall has to be
designed to resist hoop tension that can
develop. This alternative approach has advantages in situations where compaction
of fill within the ringwall cannot be carried
out effectively or where natural soil is left
in

place.

for poor ground

Foundation alternatives
conditions
Where soil conditions are encountered
beneath tank locations which are unsuitable for direct tank support there are three

RAISED

(o)

ON

PAD

(I>) REINFORCED

FILL

OF COMPACTED

COMPETEN1

general techniques for providing an adequate tank foundation. These are (a) removal of unsuitable soils and replacement
with engineered fill, (b) use of piles or
other deep foundations to transfer tank
loadings to a suitably competent soil or
rock stratum at depth, or (c) strengthenvibration or
ing the soil by preloading,
compaction methods to render it suitable
for tank support. These approaches are discussed in the following sections.
Fill replacement technique
Where unsuitable soils are present to
depths of 2-3m below surface, below
which a competent soil or rock is present,
then the best solution to adopt, and
usually the most economical (Fig. 1(c)),
is to excavate and replace with engineered
the excavation if necesfill, dewatering
sary. The replacement fill chosen should
preferably be a clean granular soil because
of its ease in placement, handling characetc.
teristics, good drainage qualities,

STONE

GROUND

CONCRETE
ON

RINGWALL

OR

CRUSHED

COMPETENT

GROUND

WEAK SOILS REMOVED AND

REP(aCED WITH ENGINEERED FILL
LOAD TO

1,5

TO

DRAINS

BE PROVIDED

0 N S0

DA1

NOTE SAND

TANK

ON

LOAD

CONSOLIDaTED

MAY

SOIL

TO

UNDER

TaNK

PLUS

ATER

0 I4

DRAINS

LOADING

EXTEND

THROUGH

AFTER

SOFT SOILS

DEFORMATION

FULL

OF TANK BOT1OM
CORRECTED AFTER
C OM PL E I ION
OF

CONSOLIDATION
TAKEN

PLaCE

j-il.l JJ J Lj Ljl

(e)

PRELOADING

WITH

I Li>"

EARTH

Fig. 1. Various foundations

FILL

for storage tanks

ERECTED
RAISED

PAD OF FILL

ERECTION

TaNK

PILES

TO

ACCELERATE
C

WITH

FOUNDATION

TIMES FULL
TANK

SAND

PILED

END-BEARING

EQUAL

BE

2,0

(BI)

If)

PRELOADING

BY

wa1ER- TESTING

LOADING

However this does not preclude the use

of other materials being considered if more
easily available.
The final choice of material to be used
will also depend on likely weather conditions to be experienced at the time of
construction and when in service. A fill
replacement programme must of necessity
take into account water conditions to be
dealt with during excavation and if indications are that expensive well-point dewatering is necessary then it might be
more economical to excavate in the wet
by clamshell or dragline and use relatively
more expensive end-dumped crushed rock
or stone, without recourse to pumping.
The main drawback to this approach is
that all unsuitable compressible soils may
not be removed from within the tank excavation and may even remain in a disturbed
and thus more compressible
condition
than originally. The result can be excessive non-uniform settlements taking place
which can be detrimental to tank performance unless observed at an early stage
of loading, such as during water testing,
and corrected in an appropriate manner.
The fill replacement technique of constructing tank pads has been extended to
very large diameter oil storage tanks'n
which up to 10m of alluvium has been
dredged out by suction dredges, and replaced by well-graded gravel which has
been vibro-compacted. It has been claimed
that the technique could possibly be extended to replace poor soils up to 20m
depth.
Piled foundations
Although the use of a piled foundation
for storage tanks (Fig. 1(d)) is the most
positive method of dealing with weak surficial soils strata it is frequently overall the
most expensive solution and it is not unknoiwn for the cost of a piled foundation
to exceed the cost of the tank which it
must suppoi't.
Piled foundations for storage tanks are
not without problems and failures have
taken place during water testing'. Because of downdrag, or negative skin friction, which develops in weak superficial
soil strata under the combined effects of
surcharge, tank and fill loadings, individual
pile design loads normally have to be
maintained sufficiently low to allow for the
additional forces that come onto the piles
as the soil consolidates.
These additional forces can represent a
considerable percentage of the pile carrying capacity especially where high surcharge and fill loadings are involved. Recently however, bitumen coatings have
been applied extensively to piles subject
to downdrag forces with the object of creating a coating to the pile surface which
can shear without transfer of the downdrag forces to the piles'. Thus pile sections can be relied upon to carry a greater
proportion of their working loads and conbecome
more
sequently
economically
effective.
For very deep deposits of weak soils
which
cannot be improved
by other
methods a piled alternative may be the
only viable foundation solution. The type
of piling chosen will depend to a great extent on the soil strata through which penetration will have to be effected. For example the use of displacement piles driven
at close centres through a stratum of very
soft clay may have an undesirable
net
overall effect in which the strength of the
clay is reduced considerably by the remoulding caused by driving.

July, 1976

27

Fig. 2 (above). Vibroflotation of sand in progress

densified foundation for a large steel storage tank
(photo, Cementation

(Africa) (Contracts)

to provide a
Pty Ltd., Durban)

Fig. 3 (right). Rig operated by Frankipile Ltd. at Canvey Island

for installing vertical cardboard wick drains
On the other hand, the use of similar
type piles where deep deposits of loose
sand are to be penetrated can lead to an
overall increase in soil strength resulting
from the vibratory effects of pile driving
on the sand causing an increase in compacted density. Although general rules cannot be laid down for all specific situations
that may arise it is stressed that the choice
of a pile type for a given set of conditions
is very important, to ensure that a situation
is not created whereby existing soil conditions are made worse by the proposed
piling technique. Otherwise a consequent
overall increase in the cost of the foundation work ensues over and above that
which is unavoidable.
One method of "piling" which is different
from conventional piling techniques is the
use of sand piles or rock piers. These can
be installed relatively cheaply and are
often used in soil conditions which are
The technique
reasonably homogeneous.
is to create a hole, either by driving a
closed ended tube, or by augering, and
then filling the hole with compacted or
vibro-compacted sand or graded refill. Fig.
in'rogress to
2 shows vibroflotation
densify sand for the foundation of a large
diameter storage tank.
There are disadvantages
in using
a
closed ended tube (usually closed with a
plug of crushed stone or a disposable tip)
in soft clay strata. The remoulding
effects
on the clay produced by this method of
creating a hole can lead ultimately to some
lateral instability of the sides of the sand
pile or rock pier thus formed. The technique of creating a hole by this punching
method can however be beneficial where
loose sand strata have to be penetrated.
Augered pile holes are generally impossible to put down in sand below ground
water level without the use of casing, but

can be the most suitable method where

deposits of uniform clay are encountered,
provided the clay is sufficiently firm to
stand up without support for the depth
penetrated.
In this connection mixed ground conditions where clay, silt and sand strata are
interlayered with one another are often the
most difficult soil conditions to be dealt
with using this technique. One other factor which needs consideration in the use
of a sand-pile or rock-pier solution is that
the sand or rock cannot be fully compacted close to ground surface where compaction is by dynamic means. In this case
use should be made of an appropriate soil
surcharge through which the piles are compacted, or alternatively the top of the piles
maintained at a minimum depth of 2m or
so below surface to ensure adequate compaction of the sand at the top of the pile.
If this is not carried out either the ground
surface fails around the top of the pile or
the sand or rock is not fully compacted.
There are a number of variations of types
of sand-piles and rock-piers which have
been used successfully depending on the
soil conditions. One such application on
reclaimed land'nvolved
seven tanks up
to 45m dia. where rock piers up to 5m
long were created by excavation with a
grab and rapid filling of the holes with
quarried steelworks slag compacted by a
large vibrating poker.
Foundation preloading
One solution to the construction of tank
foundations on poor ground which can be
cheap from a construction standpoint is to
preload either with soil or, immediately
following tank erection, consolidate the
soil during the process of water testing
(Fig. 1(e) and (f)). Preloading, however,
requires, firstly, sufficient time before the
tanks have to be put into service to

ensure that preloading is effective in reducing settlemens in the post-construction

period. Secondly, adequate prior knowledge of the soil conditions is essential so
can be
that the preloading
programme
properly planned and executed effectively
within the estimated time period available.
A preloading
also requires
programme
the co-operation and willingness
of the

owner to tolerate some post-construction

settlements should it not have proved fully
effective by the time the tanks are to enter
service. Despite the drawbacks of the preload technique with respect to the estimation of the uncertainties of time involved,
the method is comparatively
cheap when
construction
costs are compared with
those of a piled alternative in a situation
where deep deposits of weak unsuitable
soil are encountered. However the overall
economics of a situation where a tank is
erected and cannot enter service immediately can detract from this approach.
The preload technique permits load to
be applied to weak soil conditions in a
controlled manner, permitting
consolidation to take place with consequent
increase in soil density and shear strength.
The larger the area covered and the greater
the magnitude
of loading ultimately applied the greater the consolidation and increase in shear strength.
When the preload is removed some elastic rebound of the soil system will take
place but essentially a major permanent
increase in the strength of the soil is effected. The technique requires a very careful engineering
analysis to be made to
determine the amount of preload and the
time required to achieve a desirable increase in soil shear strength to restrict
post-construction
settlements
to within
allowable limits.
Where soils are extremely soft several

July, 1976

29

Where tanks are designed to store petproducts, which have a specific

less than unity, water testing will
indicate a factor of safety greater than 1.0
if the tank is filled to the design storage
level. Where tanks are designed to store
products with a specific gravity in excess
of unity then water-testing of the tank will
and the adeonly check its watertightness
quacy of the foundation can only be determined properly by testing with the storage product involved or bulk material with
a greater bulk density.
Irrespective of the purpose of watertesting for the particular circumstance involved, it is considered important that a
check be made on the settlement performance of tanks in the early stages of their
lives. Where the water-testing
or controlled filling of the tank is intended to preload the soil as discussed in the section
on foundation preloading, a number of geotechnical instruments, such as piezometers,
settlement points and slope indicator holes
will be necessary
to provide adequate
control on the preloading
programme.
Many of these may be installed underneath the tank and read remotely; others
will be situated around the periphery of
the tank or within a distance which may
be affected by tank loading on the soil
concerned.

roleum
gravity

II

Fig. 4. Cardboard drains of 300mm'- cross-sectional

beneath an oil storage tank
loading stages may be required in order
to avoid shear failure of the soil, each loadfor an approing stage being maintained
priate length of time before additional load
is added. During preloading it is important
of the soil
that sufficient instrumentation
be carried out so that a continuous check
on the effectiveness of the preload technique is available at all times. In this way
appropriate adjustments can be made to
the preloading programme so that the desired end result is effected as rapidly as
safety at all
possible with appropriate
stages.
If a surcharge
loading is placed too
rapidly there could be a failure resulting
of the soil
in loss of fill and remoulding
which may not easily be strengthened. For
instance, a clay which contains a considerable number of thin sand and silt partings may consolidate fairly rapidly but on
disturbance with consequent remoulding
and loss of its "structure" may consolidate at a considerably slower rate.
This preloading technique was used by
Penman and Watson on their Teesside
site'ith considerable economic advantages compared with the use of piles and
rock piers. To facilitate consolidation and
to increase the rate at which drainage was
effected from the soil a number of sand
drains were installed around the periphery

area being installed

provided is adequate to carry the tank loadings withsettlements

taking
out distressful
place.

(b) that the foundation

SETTLEMENT
RING -DATE I

of the tanks involved.

A development
which has taken place
over the past few years with regard to
accelerating the process of consolidation
of soft soils under load is in the use of
paper, or cardboard drains (the KjellmanFranki method) as an alternative to sand
drains. These paper drains consist of strips
of high permeability
impregnated
paper
which contains longitudinal drainage channels through which pore-water may escape
after passing through the paper from the
consolidating soil. The drains are installed
at predetermined spacings using a special
mandrel (Figs. 3 and 4). This method of
accelerating the consolidation of soft soils
has been widely used throughout
the
world, but especially in Europe, Japan and
in

North

America".

Water testing and settlement records

to test a storage tank after

erection to ensure:
(a) that it is water-tight, and

at close spacing

SETTLEMENT

/[/(/[/[g/[gJ

ON

INITIAL

SETTLEMENT

BETWEEN

DATES

SETTLEMENT

BETWEEN

DATES

It is usual

30

Ground

Engineering

LOADING

Fig. 5. Typical settlement rings around tank periphery

IL

2 B 3

DATE

taken place to any extent outside the

immediate
environs of the refinery. Relost products
covery of the previously
made a useful addition to refinery stocks
after re-treatment.

Underwriting

Is
Fig. 6. Earthworks, and oil storage tank construction at Dalmeny, Scotland
is to enObject of the instrumentation
picture of the soil
able a comprehensive
behaviour to be obtained during the process of tank loading. Where soil conditions are relatively simple as for a raised
pad of compacted granular soil on competent ground as shown in Fig. 1(a), the
can correspondrequired instrumentation
ingly be simple and may for example only
consist of settlement lugs welded on the
side of the tank around its periphery, say
at the eighth positions. This is considered
to be the minimum requirement to be provided during initial water-testing and evaluation of tank performance.
Where only peripheral tank settlements
are to be recorded these are measured during initial filling and at regular intervals
thereafter. The readings thus taken may
be plotted in a variety of ways, one of the
most useful being indicated on Fig. 5 where
settlements are plotted on a radial basis
around the tank perimeter. Where settlement rings are relatively close together
differential settlement is small compared
with when the rings are relatively far apart.
This method of plotting settlement surveys has the advantage that a visual impression of peripheral tank settlement is
immediately available. Fig. 5 gives a typical settlement diagram that can arise. It indicates that the northern side of the tank
more than the
considerably
is settling
southern side and that the greater differential settlement between any pair of measurement points is to the south-south-east
of the tank centre.

Dyke compound areas

The purpose of a dyke compound, or

bund wall area, is to retain spillage from
tanks and to prevent flooding and pollutions of the region in the event of a tank
failure releasing vast quantities of product.
The dyking precautions to be adopted in
any instance will depend on the nature of
the commodity being stored.
requirements,
For example underwriting
which will be briefly discussed in a subsequent section, lay down more stringent
rules for the storage of liquified petroleum
gases than they do for less volatile materials such as crude oil. Nevertheless dyke
compound areas should be properly de-

signed to ensure that they effectively retain any spilled product. To this end perifloor
pheral dykes and the compound
should be leak-proof.
solution
Depending on the foundation

adopted it may be necessary to ensure

that the foundations, where these consist
of permeable material, are also leak-proof.
At Dalmeny, Scotland'he main foundations for some 78m diameter floating roof
tanks consisted of compacted shale. To
prevent leakage of crude oil via the foundations into underlying shale bedrock a 3mm
plastic was
layer of glass reinforced
sprayed onto a polythene sheet covering
the tank pad areas. Fig. 6 gives a general
view of the site during the earthworks and
initial construction
phase of the tanks.
Dykes should be provided with an impermeable core or surface seal where the
bulk of soil being used is not impermeable,
otherwise reinforced concrete dyke walls
should be employed. Care should be taken
in the choice of materials, where dykes are
to be built out of soil, to ensure that they
do not alter their properties with time.
For example where dykes are constructed
of compacted shales these can break
down under the influence of weathering to
virtually a clay material and dyke instability can occur where the dykes are high.
Also in freezing climates slope instability
can be induced by frost action on the surface of clay slopes necessitating additional
protection measures.
floor areas may easily be
Compound
in the majority of
rendered impermeable
cases by providing up to 400mm of clay
soil fully remoulded and compacted. However, as with dyke walls, protection is
necessary, usually with granular fill to limit
shrinkage taking place in dry weather. This
could result in leakage in the event of spillage, and softening and difficult trafficability ensuing in wet weather.
The choice of materials for use in dyke
construction and the planning of measures
to prevent leakage from the compound
areas, such as around
pipes passing
through compound walls, is often given
too little thought. Only trouble can ensue
where dykes are built of random material,
often in a non-compacted state, the compound floor left untreated, and no provision made to seal off leakage that may
take place through pipe culverts.
The author is aware of one oil refinery
where over a period of fifty years vast
quantities of petroleum products had escaped from tank compounds and stored
themselves above the ground water table.
Fortunately the area was flat-lying and the
ground water virtually static and so no
movement of the petroleum products had

considerations

of steel storage tanks

The underwriting
varies considerably depending on (a) the
nature of the product, (b) the pollution
and fire risk in the event of tank failure,
(c) the country involved and its existing
legislation, and (d) the insurer. Thus no
general rules may be laid down on this important aspect relating to storage tank
planning, design and construction. From an
underwriting
point of view as far as tank
compounds are concerned an area of risk
is any tank storage compound containing
one or more tanks which are bounded by a
common dyke system.
The following comments relate to the
storage of hydrocarbons. A prime requirement from an underwriting
aspect is that
shall be
only one class of hydrocarbon
stored in any one compound. Suggested
maximum storage capacity in any one area
of risk might be as follows:
Pressure tank storage
150 000 barrels
Refrigerated storage
300 000 barrels
Refined products
600 000 barrels
Boil-over products
900 000 barrels
900 000 barrels
Crude oil
A second requirement that is often made
is with respect to dyke height and limitations are usually laid down to the maximum height that may be used. However
there is no reason why, if dykes are properly designed, the maximum height that is
acceptable from an underwriting
aspect
should not be raised. At the present time a
limitation of 3-4m in height is often in
effect. Under special conditions, topography may be taken into consideration in
spacing requirements of tanks and dykes.
With regard to storage capacity provided in a dyked enclosure, to safeguard
against the likelihood of spillage, the minimum capacity normally laid down is equal
to that of the largest tank plus 10 per cent
of the capacity of all other tanks in the
same enclosure. Spacing and number of
tanks that may be incorporated into any
one enclosure is dependent on the product
to be stored and the tank capacities.
Detailed requirements
of this aspect of
compound layout are dependent on the
underwriter.
Similarly, minimum
requirements for the layout of spill dykes, fire
hydrants, drainage, piping and fittings are
similarly

specified.

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank his colleagues at Edward L. Bateman Ltd., for
their helpful suggestions and constructive
comments during the preparation of this
article.

References

1.

Legatt, A. J. and Bratchall, G. E.: "Submerged

foundations
for 100 000 ton oil tanks". Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers
Part 1, May, 1973 and Discussion, November,

1973.
2. "Esso's giant oil tanks a question of more
haste, less speed". Ivew Civil Engineer, 28th
February, 1974.
3. "Bitumen slip layers for bearing piles".

Ground

Engineering,

November,

1971.

4. Penman,

A. D. M. and Watson,
G. H.:
"Foundations for torage tanks on reclaimed
land at Teesmouth." Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, May, 1967 and discussion, April, 1968.
cardboard".
Contract
5. "Canvey settles
on
Journal, February 7th, 1974.
6. "Paper drains go in fast on Quebec project".
Heavy Construction News, March 5th, 1973.
7. "Dalmeny tank farm gets dug in". Contract
Journal, March 28th, 1974.

July, 1976

31