Industries
API 650 tanks, dome roofs, spiral stairs and terminal piping for storage facilities.
Quick answer
Structural Engineering Services supports Tank Farms & Terminals projects worldwide with storage tank design (api 650), storage tank dome roof design, piping layout & routing, steel staircase & handrail design — delivered by senior engineers on licensed software to international codes.
Governing codes
Sector challenges
A terminal is a repeatable set of structures built dozens of times over. The gains come from getting the standard details, the settlement assumptions and the API compliance exactly right the first time.
Challenge 01
Large-diameter tanks are governed by buckling and wind stability, not by hydrostatic pressure.
How we answer it
Shell courses by the one-foot or variable design point method, intermediate wind girder checks and anchorage design to API 650 — with the empty-tank wind case actually checked rather than assumed to pass.
Challenge 02
Liquid sloshing adds overturning moment and can tear a floating roof or overtop the shell.
How we answer it
Impulsive and convective components are calculated to API 650 Annex E, freeboard is confirmed, and anchorage and shell compression are checked for the seismic combination.
Challenge 03
Tanks settle into their foundations over years and drag connected piping with them.
How we answer it
Geotechnical settlement predictions drive shell distortion checks and piping flexibility, with nozzle loads verified against API 650 Appendix P.
Challenge 04
Bunds, roof seals and corroded shells turn into regulatory problems as a terminal ages.
How we answer it
Containment steel and roof seal arrangements are engineered, and existing tanks are assessed to API 653 with repair or re-rating calculations where the shell has thinned.
Relevant services
Designing vertical, horizontal, fixed and floating roof tanks to API 650 and related codes.
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Modeling and detailing geodesic and framed dome roofs for large storage tanks.
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Optimising plot plans, equipment layout and pipe routing for safety, access and cost.
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Designing standalone and supported steel staircases, ladders, handrails and platforms.
ExploreTypical assets
From a single assembly to a complete package — the asset types our tank farms & terminals teams work on week to week.
API 650 fixed, floating and internal floating roof tanks with annex requirements.
Geodesic aluminium and framed steel domes, rafters and compression rings.
Spiral and straight stairways, gauger platforms and roof access to API and OSHA rules.
Truck and rail loading gantries, arm supports and access structures.
Pump manifolds, interconnecting piping, pig traps and supports.
Bund wall steel, foam line supports and containment structures.
Codes & specifications
The base code is only half the story. On tank farms & terminals work the client specification usually overrides it somewhere, so we agree a single reconciled design basis before any calculation starts.
Browse all codesThe governing standard for welded atmospheric tanks: shell, roof, anchorage and annexes.
Low-pressure storage where design pressure exceeds the API 650 limit.
Inspection, repair, alteration and reconstruction — the basis of any re-rating of an existing tank.
Normal and emergency venting, which drives roof and vent nozzle design.
Terminal and transfer piping, including liquid pipeline sections beyond the fence.
Flammable liquid storage spacing, bunding and the European tank route where specified.
Free quote
Send the drawings or datasheets you already have. We will tell you what is missing and quote the scope in 24 hours.
Project lifecycle
Most clients bring us in at detailed design. We can start earlier, or pick a package up mid-stream — here is what you get from us at each stage.
Options, preliminary sizing and budget tonnage, before the scheme is frozen.
Tank sizing, farm layout, bund capacity and plot study.
You receive
Design basis, load schedules and layouts good enough to price and procure from.
Tank datasheets, foundation loads, piping routes and gantry arrangement.
You receive
Full analysis, code checks, 3D modelling and issued-for-construction documentation.
API calculations, shell and roof drawings, stairs and terminal piping for construction.
You receive
Shop queries, RFIs and as-built updates while steel is being cut and erected.
Erection sequence, plate rolling queries, hydrotest and settlement survey support.
You receive
Deliverables & handover
Tank packages are handed over in the order an API inspector expects them: datasheet, calculations, drawings, weld map, then the as-built nameplate information.
| Deliverable | Format | Issued at |
|---|---|---|
| Design basis and calculation report | PDF, signed and checked | Detailed design |
| General arrangement drawings | DWG + PDF | FEED to detailed design |
| Drawing register and transmittal | XLSX + PDF | Every issue |
| Mechanical design calculations | PV-Elite output + PDF with code references | Detailed design |
| Fabrication and nozzle orientation drawings | DWG + PDF | Pre-fabrication |
| Tekla 3D model | Native .db1 + IFC 2x3/4 | Detailed design |
| Single-part, assembly and erection drawings | PDF + DWG, one sheet per mark | Detailed design |
| CNC files, bolt list and BOQ | NC1/DSTV, DXF, XLSX | Pre-fabrication |
| 3D piping model and isometrics | Native + PDF/DWG, line-numbered | Detailed design |
| Stress report with support and nozzle loads | PDF + CAESAR II .c2 input | Detailed design |
| Shell course, anchorage and wind girder calculation | PDF in API 650 format + XLSX | Detailed design |
| Hydrotest and settlement survey plan | PDF procedure + survey point drawing | Pre-commissioning |
Two-stage check
Originator, then senior checker signs off every sheet before it leaves our office.
Native files included
You own the model, so another team can pick the work up at any point.
Revision control
A revision table on every sheet; superseded issues are archived, never deleted.
Your transmittal route
Issued through your document-control portal with your numbering, or over secure FTP.
Directory
Jump straight to the market you build in. Every page sets out the governing codes, units and delivery window we work to there.
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Start your project
Free, no-obligation proposal from a senior engineer.