Abstract

Because of the increasing importance of the wine industry in some seismic countries such as the US, Chile and Argentina, protection of the wine storage systems during earthquakes has become a major concern. In this study, the dynamic response of thin-walled legged wine tanks with and without seismic isolation systems is investigated. The linear fluid-structure interaction has been considered in the analyses performed with SAT-LAB and ADINA. Two choices for the seismic isolation system have been evaluated: (i) a traditional lateral isolation system, and (ii) a vertical and rocking isolation system. As far as the authors know, the latter has not been considered in previous studies, and results show that it is a viable alternative for legged tanks. Moreover, all devices have been designed by taking into account the space limitations that are inherent to these systems in practice. Results obtained for 2 records and different structures have shown that both types of isolation lead to reductions in the stresses in the tank walls that range from 5% to 50%, relative to the case without isolation. These results have also implications in the selection of the thickness of the wall and the overall dimensions of the tank.