Theoretical and experimental investigation of the dynamic behaviour of elevated steel water tank

In this study, the dynamic earthquake behaviour of an elevated water tank model has been investigated experimentally and theoretically. The experimental study has been realized in the civil engineering laboratory of Cukurova University (CU). Theoretical investigations have been carried out by means of the SAP2000 software. In the study, a stainless steel tank of 2.10 m height was used in the construction laboratory of CU Civil Engineering Department. The tank was fixed on the shaking table in the construction laboratory, and earthquake behaviour was investigated experimentally according to previous earthquake records. The experimental results were compared with the numerical results of the building analysis software, and they were found to be compatible. The same experiment was repeated in the same tank which was filled with various levels of water, and the results were compared with the numerical results of building analysis software. Taking the seismic structural analysis of water tank into account, the effects of liquid sloshing seemed to have significantly affected the dynamic behaviour of the water tank. The experimental mistakes were minimised since the model structure was largely designed in accordance with the laws of similarity. The compatibility between the results of theoretical methods and the current experiment shows the success of the models used for fluid-structure interaction.