Vertical Cylindrical Tank Volume with Conical Bottom

What is this formula?

Vertical Cylindrical Tank Volume with Conical Bottom calculates the total internal capacity of a vertical cylindrical storage tank equipped with a conical bottom.

The total volume is obtained by adding the cylindrical shell volume and the conical bottom volume.

This configuration is common in storage tanks where complete drainage, sediment removal, water separation, or product recovery is required.

When to use it

Use this formula when the tank consists of a vertical cylindrical shell and a full conical bottom.

It is commonly used in petroleum facilities, chemical plants, water treatment systems, food processing, mining operations, and bulk storage installations.

Example

A tank has:

D = 12.0 m

H = 10.0 m

Hb = 0.30 m

Formula:

V = πD²H/4 + πD²Hb/12

Substitution:

V = π×12²×10/4 + π×12²×0.30/12

Result:

V = 1130.97 + 11.31

V = 1142.28 m³

The total internal tank capacity is approximately 1142.28 m³.

Applications

- Petroleum storage tanks

- Custody transfer systems

- Chemical storage tanks

- Water treatment tanks

- Bulk liquid storage

- Tank farm capacity calculations

Note

In large petroleum storage tanks, the conical bottom is often very shallow, typically providing only enough slope to facilitate drainage and water removal.

Although the conical bottom volume may represent a relatively small percentage of the total tank capacity, it can have a significant impact on custody transfer calculations, calibration tables, inventory reconciliation, and dead-stock estimation.

For high-accuracy tank calibration work, the actual bottom geometry should be verified using tank calibration surveys and applicable API standards.