Storage Tank Engineering
We design and detail industrial storage tanks in line with ASME, API, and IS standards to ensure safety, stability, and longevity.
Our expertise covers fuel, chemical, and process storage systems of varying capacities.
Scope Includes:
- Tank sizing and capacity optimization
- Nozzle orientation and detailing
- Shell, roof, and bottom design
- Fabrication and layout drawings
- Code compliance and inspection documentation
Engineering Storage Tanks to Code
A storage tank looks like a simple structure and is governed by some of the most prescriptive standards in industrial engineering. ASME, API and IS each set out how shell thickness is derived, how welds are detailed and tested, what inspection is required, and how the tank is certified for service. The applicable standard is determined by the stored product, the design pressure and the service — and it has to be established before any sizing work begins, because it changes the answer.
Our scope covers tank sizing and capacity optimisation, shell, roof and bottom design, nozzle orientation and detailing, fabrication and layout drawings, and the code compliance and inspection documentation that allows the tank to be accepted into service. Sizing is an optimisation rather than a calculation: required working volume has to be reconciled with standard plate sizes, available plot space, foundation cost and the thickness rules the code imposes. A tank sized on volume alone frequently ends up specifying non-standard plate or a footprint the site cannot give it.
Nozzle orientation receives detailed attention for the same reason piping does. Nozzle positions set how the tank is filled and drained, how long the connected piping runs have to be, and where piping loads enter the shell. They are difficult and costly to change once the shell is fabricated.
Because our expertise covers fuel, chemical and process storage, product properties are established at the outset — they drive material selection, venting provisions and containment requirements as much as capacity does.
Storage tank engineering sits alongside our piping engineering and structural engineering capabilities, since tanks are rarely engineered in isolation from the systems that fill and empty them. See our recent projects.
Storage Tank Engineering — Frequently Asked Questions
Which standards are industrial storage tanks designed to?
We design and detail industrial storage tanks in line with ASME, API and IS standards. The applicable standard depends on the stored product, design pressure and service, and it governs shell thickness, weld detailing, testing and inspection requirements.
What does storage tank engineering include?
Tank sizing and capacity optimisation, shell, roof and bottom design, nozzle orientation and detailing, fabrication and layout drawings, and code compliance and inspection documentation. Our expertise covers fuel, chemical and process storage systems across a range of capacities.
Why does nozzle orientation need detailed engineering?
Nozzle positions determine how the tank connects to the piping around it, how it is filled and drained, and where the loads from connected piping are introduced into the shell. Getting orientation wrong produces piping runs that are longer than necessary and shell stresses that were never analysed.
How is tank capacity optimised?
By balancing the required working volume against shell plate sizes, available plot space, foundation cost and the standard’s thickness rules. A tank sized purely on volume frequently ends up using non-standard plate or a footprint the site cannot accommodate.
What inspection documentation is produced with a tank design?
Code compliance records and inspection documentation forming the basis for weld inspection, hydrostatic testing and eventual statutory certification. This documentation is what allows a tank to be accepted into service and re-inspected later against its original design basis.
Can you design tanks for fuel and chemical service as well as process storage?
Yes. Our expertise covers fuel, chemical and process storage systems. Product properties drive material selection, venting requirements and containment provisions, so the stored medium is established before any sizing work begins.