Soil – Structure Interaction of Cylindrical Tank of Variable Wall Thickness under the Thermal Gradient Conditions

The paper presents an effective method for the analysis of soil-structure interaction including the behaviour of cylindrical storage tank with varying wall thickness under the thermal gradient conditions. Elastic half-space and the Winkler model have been used for the description of subsoil. The soil-structure interaction is described by using the power series. A computational example of reinforced concrete tank loaded with temperature difference across the wall thickness is given. The analysis of a hydrostatically loaded cylindrical tank, performed for the model, incorporating elastic half-space shows decrease of radial displacements, as well as substantial changes in the distribution of bending moments compared to the Winkler foundation. A local increase of subsoil reaction around the slab circumference is observed for the case of elastic half-space, contrary to the Winkler model. In the case of a tank loaded with the thermal gradient, however, the solutions for both subsoil models do not differ significantly.