Utilizing High Strength Stainless Steel for Storage Tanks, 2002 Fall Technical Conference

This paper addresses the use of high strength stainless steels for storage tanks. It has been shown that despite the fact that the corrosion resistance of type 304 austenitic stainless steel grades is sufficient for many applications, large potential cost reductions if high strength stainless steels are utilized. The potential cost reduction is depending on the design standard used. Out the grades considered herein, minimum shell thickness is, with exception of 304, higher according to API 650 than the corresponding thickness according to BS 2654.

Possible design solutions comprising high strength stainless steel are supported by means of a case: Three storage tanks for marble slurry designed according to the British standard BS 2654. Three different grades were utilized to arrive at a tank design optimised with respect to corrosion as well as structural resistance. Grades used were: The austenitic 304 for the roof and top courses, the duplex S32304 for the middle part and bottom whereas the very high strength martensitic 1.4418 was used for the bottom part.