The J-integral fracture methodology was applied to evaluate the stability of postulated
flaws in mild steel storage tanks. The material properties and the J-resistance ~JR! curve
were obtained from the archival A285 Grade B carbon steel test data. The J-integral
calculation was based on the center-cracked panel (CCP) solution of Shih and Hutchinson
(1976, ASME J. Eng. Mater. Technol. 98, pp. 289–295). A curvature correction was
applied to account for the cylindrical shell configuration. A finite element analysis of an
arbitrary flaw in the storage tank demonstrated that the curvature-corrected CCP solution
is a close approximation. The maximum storage tank fluid level for a postulated flaw
size can be established based on the J-integral flaw stability methodology.