Study on the dynamic response of polyurea coated steel tank subjected to blast loadings

Steel tanks are widely used in the storage of various chemical liquids, and the blast resistance of the tanks is very important because of the explosiveness of these liquids. To explore a feasible method to improve the blast resistance of steel tanks, the effect of polyurea coating on the blast resistance of steel storage tank is investigated in this paper. The responses of monolithic steel tanks and polyurea coated tanks under blast loads are studied by field blast experiments using TNT explosive, and the results shows that the polyurea layers are effective in reducing the maximum and residual displacements of the tank. Numerical simulations are performed and validated, and the deformation process and stress and strain distribution of the tanks are analyzed accordingly. The increase on the bending moment of the plastic hinge lines of the tanks and the increase of the area density of the cylindrical shell induced by the polyurea layers are believed to be the two main factors contributing to the displacement reduction effect of polyurea in this paper. The validated numerical model is used to study the influence of polyurea layer's thickness on the deflection of the tank, and a nearly inversely proportional relationship between the thickness and the maximum displacement is found. Three deformation modes of the tanks are identified when subjected to blast load with varying intensity and it is found that the displacement reduction effect of polyurea varies in different deformation modes.