Development of Construction Technique of LNG Storage Tank Wall Using Precast Concrete Panels

The conventional LNG storage tank wall has been constructed with cast-in-place (CIP) concrete method. However, CIP method is difficult for construction management because it is significantly affected by conditions of construction site, such as climate and material supply conditions. Therefore, this construction method consumes construction time and cost. Recently, to reduce the construction time, various construction methods, such as jump-form and slip-form method [1], are being applied to the LNG storage tank wall. But, There is a limit that construction of the inner tank has to be conducted after the construction of outer tank wall is completed. Meanwhile, precast concrete (PC) method has some different characteristics compared with that of CIP method. In the PC method, structural members are previously manufactured at a factory and transported to the construction site to be assembled. There are advantages which are reduction of construction time and cost and improvement on quality control and durability. The main objectives of this paper are to introduce a new construction technique for LNG storage tank wall using PC panels to overcome the existing limitations, and discuss the benefits of the technology. In addition, to verify the applicability of the new construction technique, a mock-up test was conducted considering PC panels.