Spherical storage tank development through mathematical modeling of constituent sections

Abstract

Spherical shapes are known to be the ideal theoretical profile for a vessel that resists internal pressure mainly because the tensile stresses developed at the wall of a pressurized spherical vessel is uniform in all directions. This makes a sphere very strong structure and the preferred shape for storing high pressure fluids since it is the only known shape that has no weak points. The major reason why spherical tanks are not commonly used is because of the complexity of the procedure for their development and the associated high cost of production. This work has successfully developed a relatively simplified framework for the design of the constituent sections of a spherical storage tank thereby providing a way out of the difficulty normally associated with its development. The framework developed was validated by using it to design and develop a 225 liter capacity spherical tank. Two models of same capacity were developed and evaluated. The first model was developed through 10-section members while the second model used 30-section members.