Seismic Response Analysis of Full Containment LNG Storage Tank Using Coupled Eulerian–Lagrangian and Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics Methods

The liquid natural gas (LNG) storage tanks as an important part of the gas system, and their seismic capability is important for city safety and gas supply. In this paper, the seismic response of a full containment LNG storage tanks filled with water are investigated using finite element method (FEM). By employing coupled Eulerian–Lagrangian (CEL) and smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) approaches, the analysis are carried out using the ABAQUS software. The liquid sloshing height and hydrodynamic pressure given by the CEL and SPH approaches are compared with those of shaking table test and the FEM using the CEL approach is found to be more accurate by comparing it with the shaking table test results. The seismic response of full containment LNG storage tank is evaluated using the CEL approach, and simulation results are obtained with excellent efficiency and accuracy. The seismic performance and the weak positions of the full containment LNG storage tank is analyzed by means of stress distribution.