Performance of stainless steel winery tanks during the 02/27/2010 Maule Earthquake

摘要

The Maule Earthquake (February 27, 2010, Chile), one of the largest recorded in history, affected a large area of the country, where several important industries were located. The wine industry was particularly vulnerable, because most of the Chilean wine was produced in the affected area. With the support of the industry and the government, a large reconnaissance effort was undertaken. The inspection found several issues with the tanks and other elements used in the wine making process that resulted in large losses, including lack of structural seismic design and detailing, lack of redundancy, and inadequate anchorage design and execution. A summary of the major findings of this inspection are presented, followed by a comparison of the results of a linear and nonlinear finite element models of one case of the tank typology most damaged by the earthquake, namely a leg-supported tank, with the observed performance. The finite element models were able to predict the location of stress and strains concentrations and the type of damage that led to the failure of the structures represented by the models. Additionally, the capacity obtained from the models compared favorably with the capacity obtained using an approximate design method proposed by other researchers. These results could be used to develop seismic design and construction guidelines to lower the vulnerability of the wine industry in future earthquakes.