Nonlinear phenomena of three-dimensional liquid sloshing in microgravity environment

Abstract

The dynamic problem of three-dimensional liquid sloshing is numerically studied in this paper. The arbitrary Lagrange-Euler (ALE) kinematic description is introduced into the control equations system. The discrete numerical equations of finite element method are developed by Galerkin weighted residual method. The boundary condition about free-surface tension is represented in the form of weak integration that can be computed by our differential geometry method derived. The normal vector on free surface is calculated by using accurate formula presented in this paper. The numerical computations are performed and the comparison not only between numerical results and analytical results but also between numerical results and experimental results validated the effectiveness of the method. Finally, large amplitude sloshing of three-dimensional liquid in low-gravity environment is simulated and some important nonlinear characteristics are obtained. From the numerical results, it is concluded that the character of nonlinear sloshing of the liquid under low-gravity environment is much different from that of the liquid sloshing under normal gravity environment.