Review article

Based on the analysis of Pascal's law and the hydraulic paradox applied to vertical cylindrical, conical and spherical tanks, as well as using the hypothesis of flat sections according to the membrane theory of thin-walled shells, the author makes the following proposal: the pressure on the shell wall, according to the hypothesis of flat sections, is not produced by the entire mass of the liquid, limited by its height and area, but only by an annular shell balanced by the internal volume of the liquid. On this basis, in the formula for calculating the strength of the tank walls, correcting coefficients are supposed to be introduced. In case of these assumptions being confirmed through testing, an economic effect is expected in the most metal-intensive industry, namely, in tank construction and capacitive equipment.