Proceedings

of PVP2009
Proceedings of the ASME 2009 Pressure Vessels and Piping
Division Conference
2009 ASME Pressure Vessels and Piping Division Conference
PVP2009
July26-30,
26-30,2009,
2009,Prague,
Prague,Czech
CzechRepublic
Republic
July

PVP2009-77227
BUCKLING CHARACTERISTICS OF FLOATING ROOF PONTOONS
IN ABOVEGROUND STORAGE TANKS
SUBJECTED TO BOTH COMPRESSIVE AND BENDING LOAD

Shoichi Yoshida
Yokohama National University
Yokohama, Japan

ABSTRACT
The 2003 Tokachi-Oki earthquake caused severe damage
to oil storage tanks due to liquid sloshing. Seven single-deck
floating roofs had experienced structural problems as
evidenced by sinking failure in large diameter tanks at a
refinery in Tomakomai, Japan. The pontoons of the floating
roofs might be buckled due to circumferential bending moment
during the sloshing. The content in the tank was spilled on
the floating roof from small failures which were caused in the
welding joints of pontoon bottom plate by the buckling. Then
the floating roof began to lose buoyancy and sank into the
content slowly. The authors had reported the buckling
strength of the pontoons subjected to circumferential bending
load first and that of the pontoons subjected to both
circumferential and radial bending load next in the previous
papers. This paper presents the buckling strength of the
pontoons subjected to both circumferential bending load and
circumferential compressive load. The axisymmetric shell
finite element method is used in the analysis. Linear elastic
bifurcation buckling analysis is carried out and the buckling
characteristics of the pontoon both with and without ring
stiffeners are investigated.
INTRODUCTION
The floating roofs are used in large aboveground oil
storage tanks to prevent evaporation of the content. They are
welded steel structure and are classified into two basic types,
"single deck type" and "double deck type". The single deck
floating roofs, considered herein, consists of a thin circular
plate called "deck" attached at the edge to a buoyant ring of
box shaped cross section called "pontoon". Seven single deck
floating roof had sunk in the 2003 Tokachi-Oki earthquake at a

refinery in Tomakomai, Japan.

Theses floating roofs
deformed to leak oil on them due to the liquid sloshing, and
they lost buoyancy to sink.
The 1st natural period of liquid sloshing in oil storage
tanks usually has the range between 5 seconds and 15 seconds.
When the predominant period of earthquake is within this
range, liquid sloshing occurs and single deck floating roofs
which are floating on the liquid surface deform. The seven
single deck floating roofs had sunk slowly spending several
days in the 2003 Tokachi-Oki earthquake. It is presumed that
the small failures in the welded joints or in the stress
concentrated parts of the pontoon were caused due to the
sloshing, and next these failures expanded gradually in the
sinking process spending several days.
In the sloshing, the pontoon of the roof is subjected to the
circumferential bending moment which is concave downward
on the maximum wave height side and upward on the minimum
wave height side. The buckling may occur on either roof
plate or bottom plate of the pontoon, on which circumferential
compressive stress acts. The elastic buckling of the pontoon
is important from the view point of the single-deck floating
roof sinking.
The pontoon also deforms ovally and compressively at the
sloshing, and is subjected to radial bending load and
circumferential compressive load simultaneously together with
circumferential bending load.
The authors had investigated the elastic buckling
characteristics of the pontoons with and without ring stiffeners
subjected to circumferential bending load using axisymmetric
shell finite element analysis [1,2]. Next, the influences of
radius and thicknesses of the pontoon on buckling due to radial
bending load were investigated, and the buckling due to both
radial and circumferential bending was analyzed [3]. In this

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paper as the next stage of this research, the influences of radius

and thicknesses of the pontoon on buckling due to
circumferential compressive load are investigated, and the
buckling due to both circumferential bending load and
circumferential compressive load is analyzed. Linear elastic
bifurcation buckling analyses are carried out using the
axisymmetric shell finite element method
.

w
m

m
min
-F
-M

Normal displacement of shell element

Rotation angle of nodal point for m
Poissons ratio
Eigenvalue and buckling load parameter for m
Minimum of m
Initial circumferential membrane stress for m=0
Initial circumferential membrane stress for m=0

Subscript m
NOMENCLATURE
A
Cross sectional area of pontoon
Nonlinear strain-displacement transformation matrix
[Bdm]
Nodal displacement vector
{dm}
E
Youngs modulus
Circumferential compressive force
F
Circumferential buckling compressive force
Fcr-
Circumferential buckling compressive force
Fcr-0
without ring stiffeners
Moment of inertia of pontoon cross section
Ir
[KLm] Small displacement stiffness matrix
[Km(N0)] Initial stress stiffness matrix
[Km(N1)] Initial stress stiffness matrix
[km(N0)] Elemental initial stress stiffness matrix
[km(N1)] Elemental initial stress stiffness matrix
Limit length of ring stiffener
Lcr
Lower edge difference
LD
Inner rim height
Li
Outer rim height
Lo
Pontoon width
LP
Ring stiffener length
LR
Circumferential buckling bending moment of pontoon
Mcr-
Mcr-0 Positive circumferential buckling bending moment
of pontoon without ring stiffeners
Mcr-00 Negative circumferential buckling bending moment
of pontoon without ring stiffeners
Radial bending moment
Mr
Circumferential bending moment
M
m
Circumferential wave number
Ni(i=0,1) Initial membrane force for m=0
NSi(i=0,1) Initial meridional membrane force for m=0
Ni(i=0,1) Initial circumferential membrane force for m=0
Inner rim radius
ri
(r, , z) Cylindrical coordinates
s
Meridional coordinate of shell element
t
Shell thickness
Inner rim plate thickness
ti
Pontoon bottom plate thickness
tL
Outer rim plate thickness
to
Thickness of ring stiffener
tR
Pontoon roof plate thickness
tu
u
Tangential displacement of shell element
Radial displacement of nodal point for m
urm
z-direction displacement of nodal point for m
uzm
um
Circumferential displacement of nodal point for m
v
Circumferential displacement of shell element

Circumferential wave number

SINGLE DECK FLOATING ROOF STRUCTURE

The single deck floating roof is made of mild steel, and
its members are jointed together by the welding. The thin
circular plate called "deck" attaches to the box shaped ring
called "pontoon", as shown in Fig.1. The pontoon consists of
the inner rim, the outer rim, the pontoon roof and the pontoon
bottom. Both the plates of the pontoon roof and the pontoon
bottom have the range between 4.5 mm and 6 mm in thickness,
and both the inner rim and the outer rim are about 10 mm.
The deck thickness is about 4.5 mm. The pontoon is usually a
wide and shallow trapezoidal shape. The width of the
pontoon which equals to the length between the inner rim and
the outer rim is several meters in large tank. It is divided into
a number of compartments in the pontoon by the radial plates
called "bulkhead".
Each compartment has liquid tight
requirement. API Standard 650 Appendix C [4] gives the
minimum requirement for the floating roof design. However,
the sloshing motion has not been considered in the design of
the floating roofs.
Pontoon

Detail of Pontoon
Deck

Pontoon roof plate

Bulkhead
Pontoon

Seal

Deck

Bottom

Outer rim
Deck

Shell

Inner rim Pontoon bottom plate

Fig.1 Single-Deck Floating Roof

The sloshing in cylindrical oil storage tanks occurs due to
relatively long period earthquake motion in which predominant
period is 5 seconds to 15 seconds. The 1st natural period of
the tank is usually within this range. In the sloshing, the
direction of the maximum and the minimum wave height side
of the tank is the earthquake excitation direction as shown in
Fig.2. The pontoon is subjected to the circumferential
bending moment which is concave downward on the maximum
wave height side and upward on the minimum wave height side
during the sloshing. The buckling may occur on either the

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roof plate or the bottom plate of the pontoon, where the

circumferential compression stress acts.
Pontoon

Deck
Max. Sloshing
direction

Buckling
Buckling

Fig.4 Floating Roof that Sank in Oil

Fig.2 Buckling Portion
Fig.3 shows the pontoon buckling in a 130,000 m3 crude
oil tank at the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake in Taiwan. Crude oil
was inundated into the pontoon from ruptured pontoon bottom
plate, and spilled into the deck from ruptured inner rim-to-deck
joint[5]. Because of small leakage, this floating roof had
remained afloat. Fig.4 shows the failure of the single deck
floating roof in a 100,000 m3 crude oil tank at the 2003
Tokachi-Oki earthquake in Japan. The floating roof had
damaged due to the sloshing, and it sank into the content.
This picture was taken after draining oil and cleaning the tank
several months after the earthquake. The large deformation
and failure of the floating roof is presumed to be caused during
the sinking process. This roof remained afloat without
collapse for several days after the earthquake according to
aerial photos. The author presumes that the damage condition
of both the single-deck floating roofs of Fig.3 and Fig.4 were
almost identical immediately after the earthquake. It is
concluded that the collapse of the single-deck floating roof as
shown in Fig.4 did not occur at the earthquake, but it occurred
during the sinking process.

The pontoon also deforms compressively due to the

sloshing, and is subjected to circumferential compression load
simultaneously together with circumferential bending load.
The buckling of the pontoon usually occurs due to
circumferential bending load because the flexural rigidity of the
pontoon is less in this direction.

ANALYSIS
Axisymmetric Shell Finite Element
The axisymmetric shell finite element used in this analysis
is a conical frustum element as shown in Fig.5. In this
element, the tangential displacement u and the circumferential
displacement v are assumed to be linear and the normal
displacement w to be cubic with regard to s, where s is the
elemental coordinate.
The strain-displacement relation based on the KirchhoffLoves assumption is given by the Novozhilovs equation as
follows[6];
u

1 v 1

+ (w cos + u sin )
s
r r

u v v

+
sin

r s r
s
(1)

=
2w
2

s
s

2
1 w cos v sin w

s
r s
r 2 2
r 2

1
w
sin

w
cos

v
sin

cos
2

+
+

r s
r s
r 2
r2

where, i and i (i= s, , s) express the strain and the change of

curvature.
The elastic stress-strain relation based on the Hookes law
is as follow;
Fig.3 Pontoon Buckling Failure(5)

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Ns

N
N s
Et

2
M s 1

M s

sym.

0
1
2

t
t2

12
12
t2
12

s

0

s

0
s

0


2 s
(1 )t
24
0

[km (N 1 )] = [Bdm ]

Ve

(2)

where, E, and t are Youngs modulus, Poissons ratio and

thickness. Ni and Mi(i= s, , s) are the membrane forces and
the bending moments.
The displacement vector can be defined by the following
formula;
d zm cos m

cos m dm sin m
=
{d m }

sin m d rm cos m
m cos m

w =dw/ds

dr

u
j

dz

0
[Bdm ]dVe
N 1

(6)

where, Ns0, Ns1 are the initial meridian membrane forces and
N0, N1 are the initial circumferential membrane forces of the
shell, respectively. These are axisymmetric forces while the
sloshing load is non-axisymmetric. It is assumed that the
buckling characteristics of the pontoon due to the sloshing are
approximately obtained from the axisymmetric load.
The nonlinear strain-displacement transformation matrix
[Bdm] is derived from the following equation.
d zm cos m
(wm cos m )

dm sin m
s
1 (w cos m ) v sin m = [Bdm ]

d rm cos m
m
r

r
m cos m

(3)

where, dim(i=z, , r) and m are the i direction displacement and

the rotation angle, and m is the circumferential wave number.

N s1

(7)

Eq.(4) is the equation for a eigenvalue problem, and is

solved for the circumferential wave number m 2 . The
buckling load is derived from the minimum eigenvalue m.
The eigenvector {dm} corresponding to the eigenvalue m
becomes the buckling mode.
Ns0, N0 are the membrane forces which are investigated
the influence on the buckling load, and Ns1, N1 are those which
are calculated the buckling load.
The computer code based on the theory mentioned above
was developed by the author. It was verified to investigate the
application to several problems[7,8].

z
v

: Nodal point

Fig.5 Axisymmetric Shell Finite Element

Linear Bifurcation Buckling Analysis
The virtual work principle gives the equation of
bifurcation buckling for the circumferential wave number
m 2 under axisymmetric loading of m=0 as follows;

([K Lm ] + [Km (N0 )] + m [Km (N1 )]){dm } = 0

ANALYTICAL CONDITIONS
The hatching area of Fig.6 is the pontoon cross section
and is discretized into 1500 to 1600 axisymmetric shell finite
elements. The deck plate is not modeled in the analysis.
The bulkhead plates can not be taken into consideration in the
analytical model because of the axisymmetric analysis. Fig.7
shows the ring stiffener which is usually attached to both the
pontoon roof plate and the pontoon bottom plate at regular
intervals.

(4)

Li

where, [KLm] , [Km], {dm} and m are the small displacement

stiffness matrix, the initial stress stiffness matrix, the
displacement vector and the buckling load parameter,
respectively. The elemental initial stress stiffness matrix is
expressed by the following forms;

[km (N0 )] = [Bdm ]

Ve

N s0

0
[Bdm ]dVe
N 0

tu
ti

to
G

r
Lo

LD

ri

(5)

Lp

tL

Fig.6 Cross Section of Pontoon

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-M

Fig.7 Ring Stiffener

In the elastic bifurcation buckling analysis, the initial
circumferential stresses are applied to the pontoon cross section
as shown in Fig.8. The initial circumferential stress -M
which is equivalent to the circumferential bending moment M
is given by:
M =

M
z
Ir

(a)Circumferential Bending Moment

(8)

The initial circumferential stress -F which is equivalent to the

circumferential compressive force F is given by:
F =

F
A

(9)

where, Ir is the moment of inertia of the pontoon cross section

through the centroid G, z is the distance from r axis through the
centriod and A is the cross sectional area. The initial
meridional membrane forces in the Eq.(5) and Eq.(6) are
defined by the following equation in this analysis.
NS0 = NS1 = 0
(10)
When F is the force which is investigated the influence on the
buckling load, and M is the moment which is calculated the
buckling load, the initial circumferential membrane forces are
defined by:
(11)
N 0 = F t ,
N 1 = M t
When M is the moment which is investigated the influence on
the buckling load, and F is the force which is calculated the
buckling load, the initial circumferential membrane forces are
defined by:
(12)
N 0 = M t ,
N 1 = F t
The circumferential buckling bending moment Mcr- and
the circumferential buckling compressive force Fcr- are
calculated by the following formulas:
(13)
M cr = min M
Fcr = min F
(14)
In this equation, min is the minimum value of the minimum
eigenvalues m in each circumferential wave number m.
The pontoon is made of mild steel, and Young's modulus E
and Poisson's ratio are 200 GPa and 0.3, respectively. In
this analysis, the circumferential bending moment M where the
pontoon roof plate is subjected to compressive stress is defined
as positive as shown in Fig.9. Table 1 shows the basic
analytical conditions of the pontoon. The cross sectional area
is A=6.43104 mm2, and the moment of inertia is Ir=6.54109
mm4 in this pontoon. This is almost equivalent to the pontoon
which has 70 m in diameter.

-F
(b) Circumferential Compressive Force
Fig.8 Initial Stress on Pontoon

Mr

Mr
F

Fig.9 Loads Applied to Pontoon

Table 1 Basic Analytical Conditions
Radius r i
30 m
Inner rim Height L i
450 mm
Plate thickness t i
12 mm
Height L o
900 mm
Outer rim
Plate thickness t o
12 mm
Width L p
4m
Pontoon Roof plate thickness t u
6 mm
Bottom plate thickness t L
6 mm
Lower edge difference L D
150 mm

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40

1.0

38

0.9

36

Buckling Force Ratio

Buckling Moment Ratio
Wave Number

0.8

1.01

32
6

0.99

30

0.98

15
20

25

30

35

40

45

10

12

14

Fig.11 Relation between Rim Plate Thickness and Buckling

Ratio

60

45

Rim Plate Thickness t i & t o (mm)

1)

1.00

34
1)

0.7

75
Buckling Force Ratio
Buckling Moment Ratio
Wave Number

Wave Number m

Fcr- /Fcr-0 or Mcr-/Mcr-00

1.02

1.1

Wave Number m

Inner Rim Radius

The elastic bifurcation buckling analyses are carried out
for various sized pontoons which have the same cross section
except for the inner rim radius ri in order to investigate the
influence of ri on the circumferential buckling compressive
force Fcr-. The pontoon data is written in Table 1 except for
the inner rim radius.
Fig.10 shows both the relation between the circumferential
buckling compressive force ratio Fcr-/Fcr-0 and the inner rim
radius ri and the relation between the circumferential wave
number m and ri. Fig.10 also shows the relation between the
circumferential buckling moment ratio Mcr-/Mcr-00 and ri[1].
Fcr-0 is the circumferential buckling compressive force of ri=30
m without ring stiffeners and is 189.2 kN. Mcr-00 is the
negative circumferential buckling bending moment of ri=30 m
without ring stiffeners, and is 55.70 kN-m. The negative
bending moment acts on the pontoon in opposite direction of
Fig.9, and is plotted at the absolute values in Fig.10 and Fig.11,
12 after mentioned.
The circumferential buckling compressive force Fcr-
slightly decreases similar to the circumferential buckling
bending moment Mcr- if the inner rim radius ri increases. The
circumferential wave number m of Fcr- is identical with that of
Mcr-, and it increases with increasing ri. It is concluded that
the inner rim radius ri hardly influences on the circumferential
buckling compressive force Fcr-.

Rim Plate Thickness

The elastic bifurcation buckling analyses are carried out
for various sized pontoons which have the same cross section
except for the rim thicknesses ti=to in order to investigate the
influence of ti=to on the circumferential buckling compressive
force Fcr-. The pontoon data is written in Table 1 except for
the rim plate thicknesses.
Fig.11 shows both the relation between the circumferential
buckling compressive force ratio Fcr-/Fcr-0 and the rim
thicknesses ti=to and the relation between the circumferential
wave number m and ti=to with the range of 6 mm~14 mm.
Fig.11 also shows the relation between the circumferential
buckling moment ratio Mcr-/Mcr-00 and ti=to with the range of 6
mm~12 mm[1].
The result shows that Fcr- increases with increasing ti=to,
and Fcr- of ti=to=12 mm is 25% greater than that of ti=to=6 mm.
Mcr- of ti=to=12 mm is 13% greater than that of ti=to=6 mm.
The circumferential wave number m of Fcr- is identical with
that of Mcr-. It is concluded that the rim plate thicknesses
ti=to fairly influences on the circumferential buckling
compressive force Fcr-.

Fcr- /Fcr-0 or Mcr-/M-cr-00

BUCKLING DUE TO COMPRESSIVE LOAD

The buckling analyses for the pontoons without ring
stiffeners are carried out.
Only the circumferential
compressive force F is applied to the pontoon to investigate
The buckling
the buckling characteristics due to F.
characteristics due to the circumferential bending moment
M[1,2] and the radial bending moment Mr[3] had been reported
in the previous papers. The initial membrane forces in Eq.(4)
are given by Eq.(12) with -M=0.

50

Inner Rim Radius r i (m)

Fig.10 Relation between Inner Rim Radius and Buckling Ratio

Pontoon Roof and Bottom Plate Thickness

The elastic bifurcation buckling analyses are carried out
for various sized pontoons which have the same cross section
except for the pontoon roof and bottom plate thicknesses tu=tL
in order to investigate the influence of tu=tL on the
The
circumferential buckling compressive force Fcr-.
pontoon data is written in Table 1 except for the pontoon roof
and bottom plate thicknesses.
Fig.12 shows both the relation between the circumferential
buckling compressive force ratio Fcr-/Fcr-0 and the pontoon
roof and bottom palate thicknesses tu=tL and the relation
between the circumferential wave number m and tu=tL. Fig.12

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1)

38

36

34

32
4

10

12

Pontoon Plate Thickness t u & t L (mm)

Circumferential Wave Number

The radial members of the pontoon can not be considered
into the analytical model in this axisymmetric FEA. The
bulkhead is especially important for the evaluation of pontoon
strength. Three-dimensional analysis is required to obtain
precise solutions. It is presumed that the buckling load
obtained in this analysis does not differ from the actual
buckling load, because the circumferential wave number m is
larger than the number of bulkheads.
1.6

Fig.12 Relation between Pontoon Plate Thickness and Buckling

ratio

55
Buckling Force Ratio
Buckling Moment Ratio
Wave Number

1.4
1.2

45

1.0

40

0.8

35

0.6

30
3.0

Pontoon Width
The elastic bifurcation buckling analyses are carried out
for various sized pontoons which have the same cross section
except for the pontoon width Lp in order to investigate the
influence of Lp on the circumferential buckling compressive
force Fcr-. The pontoon data is written in Table 1 except for
the pontoon width.
Fig.13 shows both the relation between the circumferential
buckling compressive force ratio Fcr-/Fcr-0 and the pontoon
width Lp and the relation between the circumferential wave
number m and Lp. Fig.13 also shows the relation between the
circumferential buckling moment ratio Mcr-/Mcr-0 and Lp.
Mcr-0 is the positive circumferential buckling bending moment
of Lp=4 m without ring stiffeners, and is 57.20 kN-m.
The result shows that Fcr- decreases with increasing Lp,
and Fcr- of Lp=5 m is 46.3% less than that of Lp=3 m. Mcr-
The
decreases with increasing Lp similar to Fcr-.
circumferential wave number m of Fcr- is almost identical with
that of Mcr-, and it decreases with increasing Lp. It is
concluded that the pontoon width Lp fairly influences on the
circumferential buckling compressive force Fcr-.

50

Wave Number m

40
Buckling Force Ratio
Buckling Moment Ratio
Wave Number

Wave Number m

Fcr- /Fcr-0 or Mcr-/Mcr-00

Buckling Mode
The buckling mode of the pontoon of Table1 without ring
stiffeners subjected to circumferential compressive force F is
shown in Fig.14. This is the deformation at =0, and it
distributes cosm along the circumferential direction. Both
the pontoon roof and the pontoon bottom plate largely deform
in the buckling mode. The same modes as Fig.14 are obtained
in all cases analyzed in this chapter.

Fcr- /Fcr-0 or Mcr- /Mcr-0

also shows the relation between the circumferential buckling

moment ratio Mcr-/Mcr-00 and tu=tL[1].
The result shows that Fcr- rapidly increases with
increasing tu=tL. Fcr- of tu=tL=12 mm is 13.3 times greater
than that of tu=tL=4.5 mm. Mcr- of tu=tL=12 mm is 15.7 times
greater than that of tu=tL=4.5 mm. The circumferential wave
number m of Fcr- is almost identical with that of Mcr-, and it
decreases with increasing tu=tL. It is concluded that the
pontoon roof and bottom plate thicknesses tu=tL greatly
influences on the circumferential buckling compressive force
Fcr-. This is similar to the circumferential buckling bending
moment Mcr-.

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

Pontoon Width L p (m)

Fig.13 Relation between Pontoon Width and Buckling Ratio

ri=30 m, ti=to=12 mm, tu=tL=6 mm, Fcr-/Fcr-01.0

Fig.14 Buckling Mode of Pontoon without Ring Stiffeners due

to Compressive Force

QUANTITY AND SIZE OF RING STIFFENER

The relation between the circumferential buckling
compressive forces Fcr- and both quantity and size of the ring
stiffeners is investigated. Several ring stiffeners are attached
to both the pontoon roof and bottom plate at regular intervals as
shown in Fig.6. The thickness of the ring stiffener tR is 10

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mm and its length LR varies as shown in Fig.7. The pontoon

data is written in Table 1.
Fig.15 shows the relation between the buckling
compressive force ratio Fcr-/Fcr-0 and the ring stiffener length
LR. Fcr- increases with increasing LR in the beginning, and
then it becomes almost constant at a certain length. This
length is defined as "limit length Lcr" in this paper. Lcr
increases with increasing the number of the ring stiffeners, and
Lcr is 57 mm in one ring stiffener and 90 mm in two ring
stiffeners. When LR equals to Lcr, the circumferential buckling
compressive force ratio Fcr-/Fcr-0 is 3.261 and 7.211 with one
and two ring stiffeners, respectively. According to this result,
the ring stiffener is effective on the buckling strength of the
pontoon.
Fig.16 shows the buckling modes at several lengths of a
ring stiffener. Fig.17 shows the buckling modes in two ring
stiffeners. These are the deformations at =0, and they
distribute cosm along the circumferential direction. The
buckling modes are transformed from the whole deformation of
the pontoon roof and the bottom plate into the local
deformation between the ring stiffeners or the rim plate and the
ring stiffener at the limit length Lcr, if the ring stiffener length
LR increases.
Lcr depends on the thickness of ring stiffener tR and load
types. In the circumferential bending moment M, Lcr is 60
mm in one ring stiffener and 80 mm in two ring stiffeners.
When LR equals to Lcr, the circumferential buckling moment
ratio Mcr-/Mcr-0 is 2.869 and 6.256 with one and two ring
stiffeners, respectively [2].

(a) LR=55 mm, Fcr-/Fcr-03.228

(b) LR=57 mm, Fcr-/Fcr-03.261

(c) LR=120 mm, Fcr-/Fcr-03.437

Fig.16 Buckling Mode of Pontoon with a Ring Stiffener due to
Compressive Force

(a) LR=85 mm, Fcr-/Fcr-06.917

Buckling Force Ratio Fcr- /Fcr-0

10

(b) LR=90 mm, Fcr-/Fcr-07.211

tR=10 mm, M
8

(c) LR=120 mm, Fcr-/Fcr-07.535

Fig.17 Buckling Mode of Pontoon with Two Ring Stiffeners
due to Compressive Force

2
One Ring
Two Rings
0
0

50

100

150

200

Length of Ring Stiffener L R mm

Fig.15 Relation between Circumferential Buckling Moment

and Numbers of Ring Stiffener

BUCKLING DUE TO BOTH COMPRESSIVE AND

BENDING LOAD
Buckling Load
The buckling of the pontoon with and without ring
stiffeners due to the circumferential bending moment M is
analyzed, while the circumferential compressive force F is
also acting on the pontoon. In this analysis, the pontoon cross
section data is written in Table 1. The ring stiffener thickness
tR is 10 mm, and its length LR is 120 mm which is longer than
the limit length Lcr. The initial membrane forces in Eq.(4) are
given by Eq.(11).

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Fig.18 shows the relation between the circumferential

buckling moment ratio Mcr-/Mcr-0 and the circumferential
compressive force ratio F/Fcr-0. The positive Mcr- is the
buckling moment where the pontoon roof plate is compressive,
and the negative Mcr- is the buckling moment where the
pontoon roof plate is tensile. According to Fig.18, the relation
between of Mcr-/Mcr-0 and F/Fcr-0 is almost linear.
Buckling Mode
The buckling modes of the pontoon with and without ring
stiffeners are shown in Fig.19~Fig.21.
These are the
deformations at =0, and they distribute cosm along the
circumferential direction. In these figures, they show the
modes of (a)F/Fcr-i=0.5 and positive Mcr- and (b)F/Fcr-i=0.5
Fcr-i(i=0,1,2) is the circumferential
and negative Mcr-.
buckling compressive force with i ring stiffeners, and Fcr1=3.437Fcr-0, Fcr-2=7.535Fcr-0. Fcr-i(i=1,2) of the ring
stiffener length LR=120 mm is slightly greater than that of LR=
Lcr.
Since the ring stiffener length LR=120 mm is larger than
the limit length Lcr, the buckling modes of the pontoon with
ring stiffeners show the local buckling which deforms in the
pontoon roof and bottom plate between the ring stiffeners or
the ring stiffener and the rim plate.

Two Rings
One Ring
No Ring

Mcr- /Mcr-0

F/Fcr-00.500,

Mcr-/ Mcr-00.507

(b) F/Fcr-00.500, Mcr-/ Mcr-0-0.490

Fig.19 Buckling Mode of Pontoon without Ring Stiffeners due
to both Bending Moment and Compressive Force

(a)

F/Fcr-01.719,

Mcr-/ Mcr-01.560

(b) F/Fcr-01.719, Mcr-/ Mcr-0-1.638

Fig.20 Buckling Mode of Pontoon with One Ring Stiffener due
to both Bending Moment and Compressive Force

8
6

(a)

2
0

(a)

F/Fcr-03.768,

Mcr-/ Mcr-03.434

-2
-4
-6

(b) F/Fcr-03.768, Mcr-/ Mcr-0-3.591

Fig.21 Buckling Mode of Pontoon with Two Ring Stiffeners
due to both Bending Moment and Compressive Force

-8
0

F /F cr-0
Fig.18 Relation between Circumferential Buckling Moment
and Circumferential Compressive Force using Dimensionless
Form by Buckling Load without Ring Stiffeners

CONCLUSION
The buckling characteristics of the pontoons without ring
stiffeners subjected to circumferential compressive load and
those with and without ring stiffeners subjected to both
circumferential bending and compressive load are investigated
using the linear elastic axisymmetric shell finite element
analysis.

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REFERENCES
(1)S.Yohida and K.Kitamura, Buckling of Single-Deck
Floating Roofs in Aboveground Oil Storage Tanks due to
Circumferential Bending Load, Proceedings of 2006 ASME
PVP Conference, PVP2006-ICPVT-11-93696, Vancouver,
2006.
(2)S.Yohida and K.Kitamura, Buckling of Ring Stiffened
Pontoons of Floating Roofs in Aboveground Oil Storage
Tanks, Proceedings of 2007 ASME PVP Conference,
PVP2007-26252, San Antonio, 2007.
(3)S.Yohida, Buckling Characteristics of Floating Roof
Pontoons in Aboveground Storage Tanks Subjected to
Bending Load in Two Directions, Proceedings of 2008
ASME PVP Conference, PVP2008-61085, Chicago, 2008.
(4)American Petroleum Institute, API Standard 650, Welded
Steel Tanks for Oil Storage, 11th edition, 2007.

(5)S.Yoshida,et.al., Report on Damage and Failure of Oil

Storage Tanks due to the 1999 Chi-Chi Earthquake in
Taiwan, Proceedings of 2001 ASME PVP Conference,
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(6)J.A.Stricklin, et.al, Analysis of Shells of Revolution by the
Matrix Displacement Method, AIAA Journal, Vol.6, No.12,
1968, pp.2306-2312.
(7)S.Yoshida, et.al., Bifurcation Buckling of the Top End
Closure of Oil Storage Tanks under Internal Pressure,
Proceedings of ASME PVP Conference, New Orleans,
Vol.230, 1992, pp.111-115.
(8)S.Yoshida, et.al., Elastic-Plastic Buckling Analysis of the
Uplifted Shell-to-Bottom Joint of Internally Pressurized Oil
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Method, Proceedings of ASME PVP Conference, San Diego,
Vol.370, 1998, pp.121-128.

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