The equivalent static load for non-structural elements has a limitation in that the sloshing effect and the interaction between the fluid and the water tank cannot be considered. In this study, the equations to evaluate the impulse and convective components in the design codes and previous research were compared with the shaking table test results of a rectangular water tank with flexible wall panels. The conclusions of this study can be summarized as follows: (1) It was observed that the natural periods of the impulsive component according to ACI 350.3 were longer than system identification results. Thus, ACI 350.3 may underestimate the earthquake load in the case of water tanks with flexible walls. (2) In the case of water tanks with flexible walls, the side walls deform due to bending of the front and back walls. When such three-dimensional fluid-structure interaction was included, the natural period of the impulsive component became similar to the experimental results. (3) When a detailed finite element (FE) model of the water tank was unavailable, the assumption   could be used, resulting in a reasonably conservative design earthquake load.

The finite element analysis of large sized rectangular water tank structures made of stainless steel materials is carried out for various combined load cases. The combined load cases for a large size of 5,000ton are further determined using the specification(KS B　6283) established from the Korean Standards Association. For the better numerical efficiency, the rectangular panels are modelled using the ANSYS program. The numerical results obtained for different load cases show as follows. In order to resist the snow load, it takes the influence of the gap than the size of the column. Also, in order to resist the water pressure, it shall increase the thickness of the wall. But, increasing the thickness of the wall is considerably less economical. Therefore, the angle with big thickness should be placed right next to the wall.

The finite element stress analysis of large sized rectangular water tank structures made of stainless steel materials is carried out for various combined load cases. The combined load cases for a large size of 5,000ton are further determined using the specification(KS B　6283) established from the Korean Standards Association. The changed water capacity due to the size of reservoirs could be heavily dependent for evaluating seismic effects, especially for large reservoirs. For the better numerical efficiency, the rectangular panels are modelled using the ANSYS ADPL module. The numerical results obtained for different load cases mainly show the effect of the interactions between the different load combination and other various parameters, for example, the water capacity, and different stainless steel materials. The structural performance for various load combinations is also evaluated.