The following are the standard definitions of stresses for the analysis of an independent tank type B:

Normal stress means the component of stress normal to the plane of reference.

Membrane stress means the component of normal stress that is uniformly distributed and equal to the average value of the stress across the thickness of the section under consideration.

Bending stress means the variable stress across the thickness of the section under consideration, after the subtraction of the membrane stress.

Shear stress means the component of the stress acting in the plane of reference.

Primary stress means the stress produced by the imposed loading that is necessary to balance the external forces and moments. (The basic characteristic of a primary stress is that it is not self-limiting. Primary stresses that considerably exceed the yield strength result in failure or at least in gross deformations.)

Primary general membrane stress means the primary membrane stress that is so distributed in the structure that no redistribution of load occurs as a result of yielding.

Primary local membrane stress means the resulting stress from both a membrane stress, caused by pressure or other mechanical loading, and a primary or a discontinuity effect that produces excessive distortion in the transfer of loads to other portions of the structure. (The resulting stress is a primary local membrane stress although it has some characteristics of a secondary stress.) A stress region is local if:

Secondary stress means a normal stress or shear stress caused by constraints of adjacent parts or by self-constraint of a structure. The basic characteristic of a secondary stress is that it is self-limiting. Local yielding and minor distortions can satisfy the conditions that cause the stress to occur.