Investigation of the load factors used in construction of water and wastewater concrete tanks

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The objective of this project is to better understand the structural behaviour of water concrete tanks through a series of nonlinear finite element analysis (FEA). To produce accurate models J.L. Richards will provide all needed data (material properties, dimensions, reinforcement) in order to model and then analyze both existing (where we will consider the deterioration of concrete) and new reinforced concrete water/wastewater tanks. J.L. Richards is currently interested in the load factors used in the construction of water and wastewater (liquid retaining) concrete tanks. The load factors that all constructors currently use are based on the provisions from the National Building Code of Canada (NBC) (Dead load=1.25 and Live load=1.5). However, as the water and wastewater concrete tanks are not typical buildings, J.L. Richards wants to investigate if the currently used load factors are being overly conservative which then leads to results that over-design the concrete tanks. This project aims at solving this industry-specific problem by finding the most promising design load combinations that lead to safe and at the same time not conservative design solution. The scientific data resulting from this study will allow the J.L. Richards's members to design safe water/wastewater concrete tanks with decreased requirements and cost.