Seismic Vibration Control of Fluid Storage Tanks Using Magnetorheological Dampers

Abstract

Different energy-dissipating devices have been proposed in literature to attenuate destructive effects of seismic events over fluid storage tanks. These structures have a variety of applications and are the imperative part of critical industries. Failure of these structural systems can result in substantial environmental hazards, huge economic losses, and a heavy toll. Proposed techniques in literature for seismic energy dissipation of fluid contained tanks are mostly centred on passive and active control mechanisms. Passive systems usually add complexities, extra mass, and stiffness to the main system and are not adaptive to changes in future excitations with a stochastic and an uncertain nature. Active control systems on the other hand require a considerable amount of external energy which could render them unreliable in the event of an earthquake. Moreover, robustness and instability are of substantial concerns for systems equipped with these mechanisms. Semi-active control devices using materials with adjustable properties offer advantages of both active and passive systems while removing their drawbacks. In this paper, performance of Magnetorheological (MR) dampers on seismic response reduction of fluid storage tanks has been investigated. Numerical simulations of a circular cylindrical stainless steel liquid storage tank equipped with these dampers and excited at the base have been considered to examine the efficiency of MR dampers in mitigation of seismic effects on these structural systems.