Rocking Response of Liquid Storage Tanks

A comprehensive analysis is made of the dynamic response of liquid containing, upright circular cylindrical tanks to a rocking base motion of arbitrary temporal variation. Both rigid and flexible tanks are examined. Critical response quantities for rigid tanks are evaluated over wide ranges of the parameters involved and the results presented in a form convenient for use in practical applications. The interrelationship of the responses of the system to rocking and lateral base motions of the same temporal variation is established, and it is shown that some of the effects of base rocking may be determined from available data concerning the response of laterally excited tanks. Additionally, the well‐known mechanical model for a laterally excited tank is generalized to permit consideration of the effects of base rocking. The influence of tank flexibility is evaluated by an extension of a simple approximate technique proposed previously for laterally excited tanks.