Experimental study on hydrodynamic response of a floating rigid fish tank model with slosh suppression blocks

Abstract

The development of slosh suppression blocks is an important step forward for mitigating sloshing in floating closed containment fish tanks and makes the tanks suitable for operating in a broader range of wave conditions. This experimental study investigates the motion and sloshing response of a scaled floating rigid containment tank model under regular wave action in a wave flume. The tank is fitted with slosh suppression blocks of different dimensions to investigate their effectiveness in mitigating sloshing while considering the state of the internal fluid for fish well-being. This study shows that by sacrificing moderately higher sloshing amplitudes at lower excitation periods, slosh suppression blocks are able to reduce the overall sloshing amplitudes and mitigate the build-up to large sloshing amplitudes. By letting fluid overtop onto the slosh suppression block disturbances to the main fluid volume are minimised, thereby preserving a calm living environment for the fish below. Effective slosh mitigation allows for deploying these closed containment systems in higher energy fish farming sites as the aquaculture industry expands operations into more spacious offshore sites.