API 2000 Venting

There is a new version of API 2000 for venting calculations. ITSdesign now includes this new edition for venting. There are two aspects to the new version of API 2000. The first is that to use calculations for venting that were in the previous edition, you must be using Annex A. Annex A does have restrictions that says the liquid stored must be similar to gasoline, the maximum operating temperature of the vapor space is approximately 120 degrees F (48.9 degrees C), the tank is uninsulated, and the capacity is less than 180,000 BBL (30,000 cubic meters). If it meets these criteria and you use Annex A, the results are the same as the previous standard. If, however, you use the base standard you will find that you need a lot more information about what you are storing. You need to know if the product stored is similar to Hexane, what is the Latent Heat of Vaporization of the product stored, what is the Relative Molecular Mass of the vapor, and what is the boiling point of the liquid at the relieving pressure. If you have insulation on the tank and you wish to reduce the emergency venting requirements because of the insulation, you need to know what the thermal conductivity is of the insulation. You also need to know what the approximate latitude is for the location of the tank installation. The answers to these questions could greatly affect the venting requirements especially for normal venting. It appears from some of our preliminary calculations that the normal venting per the base standard can be significantly higher than what is required by Annex A. We have just posted a new version of our ITSdesign software that includes these new calculations.

Insulation thickness added to ITSdesign

We have just released a new version of ITSdesign that includes entries for insulation thickness and weights. You have the option of having insulation on just the shell, just the roof, or both. The insulation thickness and weight can be different for the shell and the roof. You can also specify as to whether the insulation weight is to be used in the resistance to overturning for wind and seismic calculations. The addition of insulation thickness affects the area of the tank exposed to wind. In the printouts for wind you will see a different value for the tank diameter and height when detemining the area exposed when the tank is insulated. This increases the overturning moment and the sliding forces. For seismic you will see an increase in the weights. Insulation thicknesses and weights are also shown in the printouts including in the loadings page.

Frangible roof design of anchored tanks

At the API committee meeting in November I brought up the subject of the frangible roof design requirements. In particular I asked about the requirement if 5.10.2.6.d which says "For anchored tanks of any diameter, the tank shall meet the requirements of 5.10.2.6.a and the anchorage and counterweight shall be designed for 3 times the failure pressure calculated by F.6 as specified in 5.12." One of the requirements is in 5.10.2.6.a.5 which gives the maximum area of the compression ring that you can have and still be considered frangible. I asked if this requirement can be removed when the tank is anchored since we have to design the anchorage for 3 times the failure pressure which is based on the actual area of the compression area. After some discussion the committee as a group decided that you still must meet the area requirement of 5.10.2.6.a.5. What this means is that for smaller diameter tanks meeting the frangibility requirements is very difficult. For shop built tanks built to Appendix J meeting the frangibility requirements is next to impossible.

What is next in ITSdesign

We are currently working on adding Appendix P.2 calculations to our ITSdesign software. It has turned out to be a bigger challenge than first anticipated and so is taking longer than expected to program. I will keep you informed as to the progress on this. With regard to Appendix P.3 that was deleted from the standard, the committee is still working on the review of the equations in relation to the charts. That work has not been completed and so we do not have a timetable for when this section will be put back into the standard. Since it is not ready for balloting as yet, it will be at least a year.

It is a New Year!

Welcome to the New Year! My first post for 2011 will be about Addendum3 of API 650. Where is it? It is still in the process. I know it should have been released in November but it wasn't. In fact we have not seen the final draft of it to review. The last word is that it should be released in February or March. I am looking forward to its release as there are some changes in it to help with reducing anchorage on some tanks due to wind. As soon as I know it is being released, I will let you know and have the changes ready to release in our ITSdesign software program.

Buckling due to Wind in Corroded Condition

For API 650 tanks the wind calculations (both resistance to overturning and for buckling) are performed in the new condition unless the customer specifies otherwise. As such we have always had a checkbox in the "Wind" portion of our design screen to specify that the wind calculations are to be done in the corroded condition. We have now added a second checkbox to allow you to do the resistance to overturning in the "new" conditiong but do the shell buckling analysis in the "corroded" conditiong. If this checkbox is marked, then the check for wind girders will be evaluated in the corroded condition rather than the new condition.

We continually make additions and modifications to our ITSdesign software to meet the needs of our clients. We have several modifications being evaluated or worked on because of requests received. A trial version of ITSdesign is available for download at www.innovativetanksolution.com.

API Committee Meeting

The next API committee meeting will be coming up in November. As a member of the Subcommittee for Aboveground Storage Tanks design group, I will be attending the meeting and bringing some of my concerns and hopefully revisions to the standards. I have several issues I will be bringing before the committee. If you have a particular concern you think needs to be addressed, you can try to send an inquiry to API through their normal channels or you could email me your concern and I will see if it is something that I think the committee should be addressing. I would need any comments by the end of September. You can email me at its@innovativetanksolution.com.