Rocking Isolation System for Seismic Upgrading of the Al-Dufail Elevated Water Tank
- Authors
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- Keywords:
- Elevated Water Tank, Nonlinear Analysis, Rocking Isolation, Seismic Performance, Soil-Structure Interaction
- Abstract
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Elevated liquid storage tanks represent critical infrastructure systems, which are acutely vulnerable to seismic loading as a result of fluid-structure and soil-structure interaction effects. The present study investigates the seismic performance of a reinforced concrete elevated water tank in Latakia using nonlinear dynamic analysis in ABAQUS under multiple earthquake records. The tank response is initially evaluated under fixed-base conditions, incorporating both rigid and flexible soils. The tank response is initially evaluated under fixed-base conditions, followed by an assessment incorporating soil-structure interaction (SSI) effects for both rigid and flexible soil profiles. Subsequently, a rocking isolation system is introduced at the interface between the ring beam and the foundation, with SSI effects being neglected in order to isolate and evaluate the pure influence of rocking behaviour on the seismic response. The influence of water levels is examined for conditions of emptiness, half-fullness, and fullness. The findings of the study demonstrate that the implementation of rocking isolation results in a reduction of base shear and inertia forces by approximately 50-60%, while concurrently increasing displacement demands by 30-45%, in comparison with the fixed-base scenario. It has been demonstrated that soil flexibility has the capacity to reduce base shear by approximately 9.4%, whilst concomitantly increasing displacement by a maximum of 12-18%. The half-full condition is of particular significance, with seismic demand increasing by approximately 10-15% compared to the full condition due to intensified fluid-structure interaction. In conclusion, rocking isolation has been demonstrated to possess considerable potential as a cost-effective seismic protection strategy, provided that displacement capacity and uplift stability are meticulously regulated.
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- 2026-07-18
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The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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