What is a bolted tank?
A bolted tank is composed of rolled steel or alloy tank panels that are connected together via bolted connections to form a vertical cylinder used for the storage of liquid and dry bulk materials. Today’s prominent bolted tank design is referred to as “RTP”, which designates its “rolled, tapered panel” construction. The RTP design features panel sizes ranging from 4-5’ in width by 9-10’ in length. RTP panel construction utilizes high tolerance manufacturing and lap joint panel connections. When combined with the appropriate gasket and sealant a leak-free connection is maintained between panel connections. The tapered panel construction also holds the “inside dimension” of the tank cylinder. Each course of panels connected is called a “ring” and by connecting multiple courses of rings the cylinder is formed. A single row of bolts, along with gasket and sealant is utilized to seal each horizontal seam. Similarly, the vertical seams are sealed, but multiple rows of bolts may be required to resist design load requirements. Bolted tanks are available in diameters ranging from 12’-300’ diameter for liquid storage applications and 12’-48’ diameter for dry bulk hopper storage applications. Prominent bolted liquid applications for water and wastewater storage commonly use an aluminum geodesic dome cover which attaches to the top ring of the bolted cylinder, along with a bolted steel or concrete tank bottom. Prominent dry bulk storage applications commonly use a bolted steel hopper, which is designed for reliable flow/discharge requirements.