Investigation of Damage and Deformation of above-Ground RC Tanks under the Effect of Blast Load

The primary purpose of designing various structures, regardless of their intended use, is to create convenience, comfort, and security for users. Due to operational restrictions, it is not always possible to design and build a buried or semi-buried tank. Thus, in such a condition, the construction of above-ground tanks is considered the only available option. Therefore, the main goal of this research is to investigate the damage and deformation of the above-ground cylindrical and cubic tanks under the effect of blast loads, taking into account the power of the blast and the distance between the explosive materials and the tank. ABAQUS finite element software was used to simulate the RC cylindrical and cubic tanks. MATLAB software was also used to investigate the damage behavior of the concrete. For this purpose, the main variables in the current research include the amount of explosive materials (500 kg and 1000kg), the distance of explosives from the ground (0-15 meters), and the geometrical shape of the cross section of the concrete tank (circle and square with equivalent area). Also, the responses studied include maximum von Mises stress, maximum displacement, and damage created in the tank. The results show that with an increase in the explosive substance, the responses of maximum stress, maximum displacement, and damage have increased by 33%, 44.4%, and 13.3%, respectively. Also, as the distance of the explosion source from the ground increases, the amount of damage to the concrete tank does not change noticeably, indicating that the amount of damage index does not depend on the height of the explosion source. Other results show that by changing the cross-section of the concrete tank from circular to square, the damage rate has increased by approximately 40% to 50%. Keywords: RC cylindrical and cubic tanks, Blast loading, Von Mises stress, Maximum displacement, Damage, ABAQUS and MATLAB software