Description

Overview:

Students are provided with an introduction to above-ground storage tanks, specifically how and why they are used in the Houston Ship Channel. The introduction includes many photographic examples of petrochemical tank failures during major storms and describes the consequences in environmental pollution and costs to disrupted businesses and lives, as well as the lack of safety codes and provisions to better secure the tanks in coastal regions regularly visited by hurricanes. Students learn how the concepts of Archimedes' principle and Pascal's law act out in the form of the uplifting and buckling seen in the damaged and destroyed tanks, which sets the stage for the real-world engineering challenge presented in the associated activity to design new and/or improved storage tanks that can survive storm conditions.

Subject:

Architecture and Design, Engineering

Level:

Middle School, High School

Grades:

Grade 9, Grade 10, Grade 11, Grade 12

Material Type:

Lesson Plan

Author:

Emily Sappington, Mila Taylor

Provider:

TeachEngineering

Provider Set:

TeachEngineering

Date Added:

09/18/2014