Above-Ground Storage Tank Design Project
A hurricane-damaged oil storage tank from a Texas pumping and storage facility.Copyright 2013 Dave Ryan, The Beaumont Enterprise. Used with permission. http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/Responders-tour-Southeast-Texas-looking-for-oil-776445.php
At this point in the unit, students have learned about Pascal's law, Archimedes' principle, Bernoulli's principle, and why above-ground storage tanks are of major concern in the Houston Ship Channel and other coastal areas. In this culminating activity, student groups act as engineering design teams to derive equations to determine the stability of specific above-ground storage tank scenarios with given tank specifications and liquid contents. With their flotation analyses completed and the stability determined, students analyze the tank stability in specific storm conditions. Then, teams are challenged to come up with improved storage tank designs to make them less vulnerable to uplift, displacement and buckling in storm conditions. Teams present their analyses and design ideas in short class presentations.
The 4,200 above-ground storage tanks located along the 50-mile Houston Ship Channel are at high risk for failure during storm events. Because many of these facilities are only protected to 14-15 feet above mean sea level, they are very likely to uplift, displace and buckle during major flood surges. With no existing provisions for shell buckling of uplift due to flooding, it is engineers' responsibility to assess these vulnerabilities and improve the code manual to include these important provisions.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Explain what above-ground storage tanks are, where and why they are used, and the associated environmental issues.
- Explain how Pascal's law and Archimedes' principle relate to the use of above-ground storage tanks and the types of failure associated with these tanks.
- Research and apply new scientific knowledge in conjunction with content previously learned in the classroom to answer questions regarding the stability of storage tanks.
- Use critical thinking and the engineering design process to design a solution to an engineering problem.
- Effectively communicate and present unique ideas to an audience.