A new cylindrical tank is being designed for SeaWorld, where the 3m high Plexiglass wall will be supported using I-beams spaced 2m apart. The beams are to be constructed from 13mm steel plate (t=b) having a yield strength of 250MPa. This design should also include a factor of safety of 2.5.
Determine:
1. The minimum beam height (h).
2. The mass of the beam.
3. What is the minimum number of (2m x 3m) plates required for this design? Neglect kerf loss and restrict welding to only the flange web junction.
Information:
Tank diameter: 30.56 meters rho_water = 1000 kg/m^3 , rho_steel = 7850 kg/m^3
Hydrostatic Pressure:
P= rho_water*g*d , where d is the depth
Plexiglass Bearing Stress Constraint:
w proportional to d, flange width is proportional to the beam spacing
w = kd, where k = 1.0