Sloshing effects in tanks containing liquid

Abstract

Dynamic analysis of a tank containing liquid is a complex problem involving fluid-structure interaction. The tank-liquid system is simplified by an equivalent model in which the total liquid mass is divided into two zones – impulsive and convective. The paper is primary focused on the behavior of the free liquid surface (the convective portion of liquid) subjected to the dynamic loading which may result in liquid spilling or tank wall damage. Therefore, the sufficient freeboard must be required to design. The paper deals with the seismic design of the open cylindrical liquid storage tank with the aim to determine convective dynamic properties (natural frequencies and modes of oscillation), maximum vertical displacements over tank radius and overall response of the liquid to an earthquake. The analysis is performed analytically by applying procedures for the determination of convective effects based on simplified equivalent spring-mass model, numerically response spectrum, and method of motion integrating equations utilizing ANSYS Multiphysics.