Static and dynamic behavior of cellular glass products used for the bottom insulation of flat bottom tanks

Abstract

This paper gives a general introduction to the design of load bearing insulation systems made from cellular glass for flat bottom tanks used to store cryogenic liquids. The mechanical properties of cellular glass are summarized and the current situation of the set of rules and regulations regarding design and construction of bottom insulation systems is presented. The intention of this paper is to bring attention to the dynamic behavior of cellular glass bottom insulation systems under horizontal earthquake acceleration. Within this paper, the basic results of cyclic shear force tests performed on cellular glass blocks are presented. The intention of these tests was to determine the dynamic behavior of a bottom insulation system exposed to shear inducing seismic actions. A procedure for implementing the dynamic properties of cellular glass into a multi modal dynamic model is presented and verified by a dynamic calculation.