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Erection procedure of Storage tank by

conventional method
a) Erection Plan :-

The erection plan should be developed with full knowledge of site condition, hoisting
equipment availability and delivery schedules. Considerable thought should be
given to the location of the shell for convenient and economical erection.

b) Establishing Orientations :-

Before starting any work, orientation of tank pad and location of the fittings on the
tank should be established.

c) Unloading steel for convenient erection :-

Planning the best location for unloading steel can save many hours of erection time.
The plan must consider the orientation of the bottom plate.

d) Inspection of Foundation :-

After establishing the orientations, carefully inspect the foundation. A bad

foundation can cause costly and undesirable problems during tank construction.
Check the compactness of soil on the basis of test report. Slope of the foundation
should be checked at minimum eight positions and ensure that it is uniform. Ring
walls, concrete slabs, retaining walls/ granular berms should be checked by tape
measurement to assure that they are within radial tolerances.

e) Location Centre :-

It is necessary to determine the center of the foundation before the bottom plate
can be laid. The center can be located in the following manner:-

1. Measure the diameter of the base in four places.

2. Take one-half the average diameter for the radius.

3. Hold one end of the tape on a point on the outer edge of the grade and
scribe an arc across the center of the grade.
4. Repeat step 3 at three other points on the outer edge of the grade,
approximately 90o apart.
5. Drive a center stake at the point where the four arcs cross.
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6. After the center has been located, measure radius all around to confirm
that the base is large enough for the tank and that the center is correctly
located.

ERECTION OF BOTTOM PLATE AND WELDING SEQUENCE

 Mark the plates as per drawing
 Carryout cutting operation after proper inspection
 All the cutting operation shall be carried out by gas cutting
 Grind the cut edges smooth to remove burrs and slag
 Proper surface preparation to be done for underneath of bottom
plate.
 Zinc phosphate primer if specified on drawing shall be applied and
allow it to dry for overnight
 Coal tar epoxy of two coats if specified on drawing shall be applied for
underneath of bottom plate. 12 hours gap shall be maintained
between coat to coat
 Stack the plates at designated place in the fabrication yard in proper
sequence
 Lay the center plate on the foundation top as per drawing
 While laying it should ensure that three plate joint to joint distances
minimum 300mm shall be maintained.
 With co-ordination of center plate lay the bottom plates sequentially
as per drawing
 Laps shall be maintained while the fit-up of short seam and long seam
as per drawing
 Temporary tack weld to be carryout on the long seam to avoid
uneven movements, while the fit-up and welding of short-seam
 Joggling shall be carried out by hammering at three plate joint
location before welding
 Short seam welding will be carried out alternatively to avoid distortion
 After the completion of short-seam welding, remove the temporary
tacks on the long seam by grinding to facilitate the long seam fit-up
 Laps shall be maintained while the fit-up of long seam as per
approved drawing
 Before starting the welding, channels, shall be tacked along the long
seam to avoid distortion
 After completion of short seam welding long seam welding will be
carried out alternatively to avoid distortion
 Qualified welder shall be engaged and welding shall be carryout as
per approved WPS
 After completion of welding thoroughly clean the weld joint by wire
brushing and grinding
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 Joggling shall be carried out for 150mm from outside by hammering

where shell plate is going to be site

TESTING OF BOTTOM PLATE

After welding the required portion of bottom plate, vacuum test as per IS 803 Fig 24
and clause No. 12. will be done to check the leakage in the welding joint. This test
will be done upto the full satisfaction of the customer or end user.
SHELL ERECTION / WELDING SEQUENCE

 After the completion of welding of bottom plates, mark the tank inner
radius on the bottom plate
 First course of shell erection shall be started.
 The rolled shell plates for 1st course shall be shifted to the tank
foundation area stacked around the periphery by using hydra
 Proper care shall be taken while handling the rolled plates
 Care shall be taken that the shell plate erected to the diameter
marked on the bottom plate
 Jigs and fixtures shall be used to align the shell plates
 Complete the fit up of all vertical joints of first course.
 Peaking to be checked after the fit-up of the vertical joints. Peaking
shall be within the tolerance as per IS 803
 Peaking shall be checked at top, middle and bottom of the vertical joints
using a template of 1mtr long
 Plumbness shall be checked for the verticality of the shell course at every 60
degrees and shall be within the tolerance(tolerance 1/200 of the total shell
height)
 For perfect verticality, channels shall be provided at the regular interval inside
of the shell course(3 to 5 mtrs)
 Tack welds of the fitted vertical joints shall be ground smooth
 Offer for inspection and get clearance from customer engineer for the
vertical fitup
 After completion of fitup of vertical seams of 1st shell course, shell to bottom
plate fitup shall be carried out using jigs and fixture
 After getting fit up clearance for welding root weld shall be carried out from
inside.
 Chalk kerosene test shall be carried out at this stage
 Compete welding shall be done from outside and visual checking to be
carryout
 Now fix the Deric on bottom plate as shown in photogrphas
 The rolled shell plates for 2nd course shall be shifted to the tank
foundation area stacked around the periphery by using hydra
 Lift the plates and erect on 1st course by using Deric.
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 Erect second shell course plate on top of erected 1st course of shell plate,
3mm thk spacers shll be kept between first and last but one shell course
plates to maintain horizontal seam gap.
 Erection channels shall be fixed between 5th and 6rh shell course at regular
intervals to align and hold the last shell in vertical position.
 Proper care shall be taken while handling the rolled plates
 Jigs and fixtures shall be used to align the shell plates
 Complete the fit up of all vertical joints of second course.
 Peaking, plumbness, tolerance shall be checked for second course.
 After erection of second course first course vertical joints shall be welded.
 After completion of one side welding of vertical joints, back chip shall be
carried out for sound metal from other side of the weld by grinding
 Back chipped grooves shall be offer for inspection before starting the
welding.
 Complete the opposite side welding using qualified welders
 Joint numbers and welder number shall be marked on both side of the weld
joint
 Care shall be taken while welding to avoid peaking and the roundness
distortion
 Clean weld joints from both sides by wire brushing and grinding
 Now erect third shell course in the same manner explained above
 After erection and checking of third shell courses, welding shall be
completed for vertical joint of second course as explained above.
 After completion of welding of vertical joints for second course, horizontal
seam between first and second shell course shall be welded. Proper care
shall be taken while welding.
 Once after completion of horizontal seam welding remove temporary cleats
and ground smoothly.
 All the next courses shall be erected and welded in the same sequence.
 Brief welding sequence is given below for the shell having six courses
a. After erection of second shell course first course vertical joints
to be welded
b. After erection of third shell course second shell course vertical
joints to be welded follow by horizontal seam between first
and second shell course
c. After erection of fourth shell course third shell course vertical
joints to be welded follow by horizontal seam welding
between second and third shell course
d. After erection of fifth shell course, fourth shell course vertical
joints to be welded follow by horizontal seam welding
between third and fourth shell course
e. After erection of sixth shell course fifth shell course vertical
joints to be welded follow by horizontal seam welding
between fourth and fifth shell course
f. Sixth shell course vertical joints to be welded follow by
horizontal seam welding between fifth and sixth shell course
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TESTING OF SHELL PLATES

 Chalk kerosene test shall be done for the joint between bottom and shell
plate
 Radiography shall be done as per IS 803

ERECTION OF ROOF / WELDING SEQUENCE

 After completion of 6th shell courses erection, fitup, welding and curb angle
fitup, welding shall be done for curb angle
 Erect the fabricated center drum, roof truss as per drawing.
 Complete the welding of roof structure by approved welders and as per
approved WPS
 Erect and lay the roof plates on the structure as per drawing
 While fitup of the short seam and long seams lap to be maintained as per
drawing
 Weld the short seams by welding alternative joint or sequence mentioned in
the bottom plate preparation to prevents distortion
 Provide proper support lengthwise of the long seam and weld the joints to
avoid distortion
 Welding of roof plate to curb angle shall be carried out at this stage.
 After completion of roof to curb angle welding, Openings of nozzles in roof
shall be done as per drawing. Before opening, clearance shall be taken from
customer.
 Erect prefabricated nozzles on roof and complete welding. Applicable NDT
shall be done for nozzles.
 Erect hand railing on top of roof as per drawing and complete welding.

TESTING OF ROOF PLATES

After welding the roof plates, the roof of tank designed for gastight to testing as per
Clause No. 12.3.1 and 12.3.2 of IS 803. It will ensure the leakage in weld joints.

Appurtenances installation

 Flanges to pipe joint shall be prefabricated and required NDT shall be

completed before erection
 Mark nozzle location as per drawings. Cut the opening by gas cutting after
proper inspection
 Erect the nozzles as per the orientation and the elevation shown in drawing
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 Install RF pads wherever required before nozzle erection

 Suitable jigs and fixtures shall be provided to prevent the distortion during the
welding
 After completion of bottom shell course welding shell nozzles shall be marked
as per drawing and offer for inspection
 Cut the nozzle opening, install the RF pads and erect the nozzles( pre
fabricated) as per drawing
 Orientation, elevation & projection shall be maintained as per drawing and
offer for clearance.
 Welding shall be as per WPS and to be welded by the qualified welder
 Manhole neck shall be fabricated and the longitudinal joint shall be radio
graphed
 All the RF pad weld shall be pneumatically tested at a pressure of
1.05kg/cm2.
 All the nozzles final weld from both sides and RF pads welds shall be inspected
by visually and by LPT.
 On completion of all above works, inside cleaning of tank must be done
before water filling for hydro test
 Pad plates for firefighting pipe supports to be welded at respective location
on shell before lifting.
 Nozzle supports shall be welded at respective location on shell as per
drawing.
 Insulation cleats shall be welded on bottom shell course before hydro test.

FINAL TESTING OF THE TANK

Note : Before filling with water for hydro test, following marking to be done :

Fix a level of the tank and shift it to the nearest point to the same. Leveling
will be shifted along the tank at eight locations to check the settlement of the
tank while hydro-testing. Water filling will be done in every one meter height.
After every one meter the level to be checked by correspondence level at
every eight locations marked on the foundation and plums checking to see
the verticality of the tank. The same method will be adopted for release the
water and opening roof manholes. Ensure while emptying the tank, vent and
roof manholes shall be in open condition. Before hydro-testing all nozzles,
openings to be closed except one nozzle to be attached with isolation valve
and nipple

Painting sequence of tank

Equipment

 All equipment (compressor, sand pots and paint pumps etc) shall be in good
operating condition and of sufficient capacity to provide satisfactory results
for cleaning and painting.
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 Spray equipment and tip size shall be used as recommended in the paint
manufacturer’s instructions
 Compressed air for blasting and painting shall be free from detrimental
amounts of water or oil.
 Adequate lighting shall be provided inside the tank to properly allow for
safety, workmanship and inspection
 Air hoods, respirators and sufficient ventilation shall be provided during
blasting, painting and curing
 Contractor must have the proper scaffolding equipment to blast at heights
 Contractor shall have available at the site, all inspection and measuring
equipment such as dry film thickness gauges, holiday detectors
Painting sequence:

 After making proper scaffolding inside, first clean the inside with copper grit.
 Within four hours after blasting Primer shall be applied for roof inside
 After curing of primer for inside, intermediate coat shall be applied.
 Overnight curing shall be allowed and then final coat shall be started for
inside
 After completion of inside painting, blast cleaning shall be done for external
surface of roof and to be primed with primer.
 Shell to be blast cleaned thoroughly and primer to be applied. DFT to be
checked after curing
 Overnight curing shall be ensured between coat to coat
 After curing of primer, surfaces shall be cleaned of all dust, excessive spray,
abrasive and other contaminants
 Intermediate coat shall be applied at this stage for exterior surface of tank
and roof. DFT shall be checked
 After curing of intermediate coat final painting of epoxy based shall be
applied
 Final DFT shall be checked.
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