Introduction

TankCalcAndroid is a program for anayzing storage tanks. Many versions of this program, also called TankCalc, are in wide use in the storage industry worldwide. Here are some TankCalcAndroid features:

• Given some measurements of a storage tank, TankCalcAndroid will compute all the tank's characteristics, including its capacity, its unladen and gross weight, and will produce a table that correlates sensor height with incremental volume, wetted area (liquid/tank interface) and surface area (liquid/gas interface).
• TankCalcAndroid will perform the above operations for a wide variety of tank types — cylindrical, spherical, cylindrical with spherical end caps, and many other end cap types (elliptical conical, sphere-segment).
• TankCalcAndroid easily handles tanks in different orientations — horizontal, vertical, or any intermediate angle. For each of these cases, it will produce a table of sensor heights and equivalent volumes.
• TankCalcAndroid has a 3D modeler to assist in visualizing the modeled tank. The user can rotate, zoom and translate the graphic image to help in analyzing the tank's geometry. And TankCalcAndroid doesn't just create a 3D perspective view — it supports true anaglyphic 3D for users with red/blue glasses.
• Finally, after a tank analysis is complete, one can email the results directly from his Android device to a provided email address.

Quick Instructions

• The best way to learn how to use TankCalcAndroid is to visit the TankCalc home page, where one will find a detailed explanation of the mathematics behind this program. These instructions are only for quick reference and for those already familiar with other versions of TankCalc.

• To use TankCalcAndroid, the user must first get some tank dimensions — for a typical cylindrical storage tank with rounded ends, the following measurements are needed (note the colors — these are the same colors used in the program and its graphic display):

  • The length of the cylindrical section minus the end caps, variable name L.
  • The radius of the cylindrical section, variable name R.
  • The type and radius of the left end cap, variable name r.
  • The type and radius of the right end cap, variable name r.
  • The position and orientation of the level sensor. This is meant to maximize the accuracy of the results. Many tanks have sensors that either don't start indicating until there is already some liquid in the tank, or have a nonzero indication for an empty tank. TankCalcAndroid has data entries that accommodates most of these cases.
  • The tank's orientation. Many storage tanks are mounted at a small angle to the horizontal, a strategy meant to simplify cleaning and segregation of impurities. TankCalcAndroid accommodates this kind of mounting, and produes accurate results for total and incremental volume for tilted tanks. But even though most tanks have only a slight tilt, the program will handle tanks mounted at any angle, including vertical.

• About the two little-r entries above — the little-r dimension is often different from the major radius of the cylinder, and sometimes each end is different, which is why there are two r entries. This topic is more fully explained in the TankCalc technical description and user documentation.

• It is with respect to the sensor's geometry that the TankCalcAndroid 3D viewer is most useful. The graphic display helps the user see the relationship between the sensor and the tank, and the sensor's angle relative to the horizontal.

• For a more complete analysis, the user has the option to enter information about the tank's wall thickness, mateerial density and the density of its contents, reuslting in additional results like tank net and gross weight, and surface area.
• TankCalcAndroid allows data entry in English or Metric units, and the analysis results can be expressed in user-selected units as well.
• Having entered a tank description to the program's SETUP tab, the user can get a summary description of the tank at the SUMMARY tab, or a table correlating sensor heights with incremental volume|wetted area|surface area (or the reverse) at the TABLE tab.
• Here are the data table's field names and meanings:
  • Sensor Height (units): The tank's content sensor height for the current table row.
  • LV (units): The incremental content volume for this sensor height.
  • LWA (units): The wetted area (liquid/tank) for this sensor height.
  • LSA (units): The surface area (liquid/gas) for this sensor height.
  A more complete explanation is available at the TankCalc home page.
• The 3D modeler is located at the IMAGE tab (and another copy is located to the right of the data entry fields on large-format Android devices). To navigate the 3D modeler, just remember these hints:
  • Use one finger to rotate the figure horizontally and vertically.
  • Use two fingers, moving in different directions, to zoom in and out.
  • Use two fingers, moving in the same direction, to translate (slide) the image left and right, or up and down.
• Again, more complete instructions, including mathematical background, can be found at the TankCalc home page.

Disclaimer

I apologize for the strict legalese below, but this program's calculations may be used to design and maintain fuel tanks and the possibilities for litigation have not escaped my attention. Sorry.

Disclaimer of Warranty

The computations provided by TankCalc/TankCalcAndroid are provided on an "as-is" basis, without warranty of any kind, including without limitation the warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. The entire risk as to the quality and performance of the computations is borne by you. Should the results prove to be in error, you assume the entire cost of any required service and repair, and any consequential damage.

Limitation of Liability

As customary in the computer business, you are solely responsible for any loss of profit or any other commercial damage, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential or other damages. This disclaimer specifically disclaims all other warranties, expressed or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, related to defects in the computed results or the documentation.