Sloshing In Tank Research Articles

Investigation of liquid sloshing characteristics in tanks using an OpenFOAM solver with arbitrary excitation

A multiphase flow solver with mesh motion is typically used for simulations of liquid sloshing in containers, such as those in spacecraft, aircraft, and ships. The mode of the mesh motion should be predefined by functions, which is difficult for a sustained and arbitrary motion. In the present work, a general solver without mesh motion for liquid sloshing in tanks is proposed, based on the interFoam solver in OpenFOAM, by tracking the free surface using the volume of fluid method. An arbitrary excitation loading algorithm is implemented for automatically loading the three-dimensional arbitrary acceleration data. Moreover, the energy equation with phase change is also newly implemented in this solver so that the heat and mass transfer can be evaluated for cryogenic fuels during sloshing. In this way, arbitrary external excitations can be directly imported for any arbitrary sloshing case, and the characteristics of liquid sloshing and oscillation forces can be directly simulated without mesh motion. The solver is validated using different cases, and the influence of sloshing on the mass transfer rate and the effect of the baffle on the liquid sloshing characteristics are investigated. The results indicate that the solver can be easily applied to engineering problems involving liquid sloshing.

The suppression effect of a vertical baffle on three-dimensional swirling and chaotic sloshing in a laterally excited square-based tank

In order to systematically investigate the suppression effect of a vertical baffle on three-dimensional (3D) swirling and chaotic sloshing in a square-based tank subjected to horizontal harmonic excitation, hundreds of experiments are conducted in a clean tank and baffled tanks with three different configurations. Specifically, the vertical baffle is mounted on the tank bottom parallel to the longitudinal direction, the transverse direction, or the diagonal direction. This experimental work finds that there are four sloshing wave regimes in a clean tank—planar, square-like, swirling, and chaotic—which can be described by the asymptotic multimodal theory. Furthermore, there are only two wave regimes in a longitudinal-baffle tank, the planar and swirling regimes, and the occurrence of swirling requires that the excitation amplitude is sufficiently large. It is confirmed that the longitudinal baffle has a significant suppression effect on the swirling and chaotic motions of the sloshing waves, even though it is parallel to the direction of tank movement. Furthermore, the suppression effect of the diagonal baffle is similar to but somewhat smaller than that of the longitudinal baffle. However, when the transverse baffle is mounted on the bottom of the tank, it is difficult to excite the rotation of the sloshing wave. Therefore, the suppression effect of a bottom-mounted baffle depends largely on the included angle between the vertical baffle and the tank movement direction.

Numerical Investigation of the Fuel Tank Sloshing Condition of a Commercial Vehicle

This study investigates the impact of baffles on fuel sloshing behavior within truck fuel tanks using numerical simulations. The volume of the fluid multiphase model is employed to analyze the flow dynamics of 25% diesel fuel in a 250 L tank, modeled in a 3D domain. Two configurations were compared: a tank with baffles and one without. The primary focus is to analyze fuel distribution within the intake port region during vehicle acceleration and deceleration maneuvers. The simulated scenario mimics a realistic driving situation. The vehicle accelerates from 0 km/h to 60 km/h over 10 s, followed by a 3-s braking period to reach a complete stop (0 km/h) at the 13-s mark. The simulation then observes the fuel behavior within the tank for an addi-tional 7 s while the vehicle remains stationary. Results reveal significant differences in fuel behavior between baffled and unbaffled tanks. In the absence of baffles, the sloshing motion is substantial, leading to a complete depletion of fuel in the intake port region for a duration of 3 s during both the acceleration and deceleration phases (between 10 and 13 s). Compared to a standard tank, the presence of baffles significantly reduced the sloshing amplitude by approximately 70%. Furthermore, baffles led to a 50% decrease in pressure variations on the tank walls. Temporary fuel starvation can negatively impact engine performance and combustion efficiency. Conversely, the presence of baffles within the tank effectively mitigates sloshing and ensures continuous fuel presence at the intake port the entire simulation. This suggests that baffles play a crucial role in maintaining a stable and consistent fuel supply to the engine, even during dynamic vehicle maneuvers.

Modeling Torsional Stiffness and Damping of Liquid Slosh in Spacecraft Diaphragm Tanks

This study presents a pendulum-based empirical model of liquid slosh in spacecraft diaphragm tanks. Diaphragm torsional stiffness and effective damping are predicted within a range of lateral excitation frequency typical of launch or on-orbit operations. A pendulum-analog model with two primary slosh modes is extracted from diaphragm tank slosh data corresponding to steady-state triaxial force measurements at the support points of the tank under sinusoidal excitation. The approach leads to repeatable and accurate determination of pendulum model parameters. A gradient-based algorithm and a procedure for setting initial conditions for optimal parameter estimation are proposed to predict the liquid slosh forces and torques acting on the tank as frequency response functions of apparent mass and apparent mass moment. The pendulum models were assessed by comparing model-predicted force/torques with measurements, showing good agreement (1–5% prediction error in the time domain) under most test conditions (fill level, excitation amplitude, and frequency). An empirical model of the stiffness and damping is also proposed for the tested range of operational conditions. Because of the nonlinear nature of liquid slosh behavior in a diaphragm tank, both the stiffness and damping are local values for a given set of test conditions.

Calculating the Structural Responses of Aquaculture Tanks by Considering the Effects of Corrosion and Tank Sloshing

Calculating the Structural Responses of Aquaculture Tanks by Considering the Effects of Corrosion and Tank Sloshing

Fully nonlinear wave interaction with 2D floating body including nonlinear sloshing tank

Two-dimensional fully-nonlinear numerical sloshing tank (FN-NST) simulation program is developed based on boundary element method (BEM), potential theory with artificial free-surface damping, and space-fixed (global) coordinate system. The free surface in sloshing tank is updated by the mixed Eulerian-Lagrangian (MEL) method with material node approach (Full Lagrangian approach). The developed potential-based nonlinear model was validated through comparisons with available experimental and CFD (computational fluid dynamics) results and they show good agreements. The nonlinear sloshing model is then further implemented in the fully nonlinear wave and floating-body simulation program to observe the effects of liquid sloshing motion. In the fully nonlinear program, the entire nonlinear fluid pressure is integrated over the instantaneous wetted body surface and position, which is subsequently compared with the corresponding linear theory and results. The second-order effects are also identified from the fully-nonlinear simulation. The floater Response Amplitude Operators (RAOs) for frozen- and liquid-cargo cases are also compared for various wave frequencies and amplitudes to better identify the role of liquid cargo in the stability of rotational motions. The effects of the vertical location of liquid tank and artificial free-surface damping are also investigated.

Wind-induced response of the flexible floating roofs of large storage tanks considering liquid sloshing

Most large storage tanks are built in coastal ports and are prone to strong wind. The deformation and stress fatigue problems of the flexible floating roof of tanks under wind loads are worthy of attention. However, current research and standards mainly focus on seismic excitation, and the effect of wind loads is rarely discussed. Therefore, this paper derives a solution for the response of single-deck floating roofs under wind loads considering the liquid sloshing in storage tanks. The displacement of floating roof and velocity potential of liquid are expressed by modal superposition, and the wind pressure is measured by wind tunnel tests and expanded by Fourier series. The vertical displacement, Von Mises stress and hydrodynamic pressure of the floating roof are calculated for various liquid levels. The difference in response and fatigue damage between single-deck and double-deck floating roofs are discussed and the effect of various size parameters is analyzed. The results show that the response increases significantly with the increase of liquid level. Large Von Mises stresses are generated at the junction between the deck and the pontoon due to the difference in stiffness, which may lead to fatigue failure of the weld. A sufficiently wide pontoon or the choice of a double-deck floating roof can effectively avoid stress concentration. The proposed method can quickly estimate the wind-induced response of floating roofs and is expected to be applied to large-scale parametric design and reliability analysis.

Experimental studies of the impact of fluid sloshing in the tank on the dynamic characteristics of the “wing model – fuel tank” system

Flexible response of the airframe structural elements under operational loads are one of the main sources of fatigue damage accumulation. It is known that fuel sloshing in tanks can change the dynamic (frequencies and shapes of natural oscillations) and dissipative properties (oscillation damping decrements) of an elastic system, including partially or completely fuelfilled tanks. It is specified that fuel sloshing in tanks due to the additional oscillation energy dissipation of the elastic system can have a significant impact on both the fatigue and aeroelastic characteristics of aircraft structural elements. Theoretical and experimental studies, applicably to the majority of currently operating transport aircraft, have shown that when modeling dynamic phenomena and solving aeroelasticity problems, fuel can be considered conditionally solidified, which actually does not affect the resultant effect. The advent of modern heavy transport aircraft with a high aspect ratio wing and four engines on pylons under the wing has led to a considerable change in the dynamic picture of the aircraft interaction with the environment. The main feature is that, under this arrangement, the first horizontal bending mode of the wing is embedded in the main flexible modes that determine the dynamic response to external effects. In this case, the model of solidified fuel can have a significant impact on the accuracy of predicting dynamic loads and, as a consequence, on the quantitative characteristics of durability and aeroelasticity. The article presents the results of experimental studies of the impact of fluid sloshing in the tank on the dynamic characteristics (frequencies of natural oscillations and amplitudes of forced oscillations) of the “wing model – fuel tank” system. The design of the experimental installation and the methodology of conducting experiments are described. During the experiment, the tank was partially filled with liquid or full, and horizontal bending modes of the wing model, for which considering liquid sloshing in the tank is the most relevant, were studied. The tank refueling levels are determined at which the maximum effect of the system oscillation damping is achieved due to energy dissipation under liquid sloshing. The effect of various factors (presence of a top cover, internal structural frame, perforation in the structural frame) on the amplitudes and frequencies of forced oscillations is analyzed.

Impact of Internal Baffle Designs on Liquid Hydrogen Sloshing in Cryogenic Aircraft Fuel Tanks

Hydrogen because of its zero carbon emissions and highly energy-dense nature has a strong potential to be used as an aviation fuel. There are currently two main ways that hydrogen is being considered for use in aircraft: it can be vaporized and mixed with air before being burned in the jet engine, or it can be used to power fuel cells that generate electricity, which can be used to power electric motors. Both these scenarios would require storing liquid hydrogen (LH2) in cryogenic tanks on board as it minimizes the tank size. But a major challenge with cryogenic hydrogen storage is the dynamic movement of the fuel which can lead to fuel boil off and bubble formation. In the current paper, the sloshing motion of LH2 in a CHEETA type thin-walled composite fuel tank, under acceleration data obtained from an Airbus A-320 in cruising conditions, is investigated. The dynamic fluid structure interaction problem is solved numerically using the Coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian (CEL) technique in ABAQUS. The developed modelling strategy is then employed to study the impact of various internal baffle designs on the sloshing behavior of the fuel under different fill levels. This study not only establishes that sloshing is a major cause for concern when it comes to LH2 aircraft fuel storage, but also advances our understanding in devising potential mitigative strategies.

Fluid-structure interaction dynamic analysis of large civil aircraft tank sloshing

To meet the requirements of passengers, the tank volume of large civil aircraft is gradually increasing, which brings certain risks. Under different 0 pertaining conditions during the flight, the liquid in the tank will cause structural failure and affect the aircraft’s safety. Therefore, based on the assumption of an ideal fluid, the smooth particle method (SPH) combined with the finite element method (FEM) is used to establish the coupling dynamic equation between the tank and the liquid. The effects of sloshing impact on the water tank under different filling rates were studied, and the influences of the water wave shape, the center of gravity shift, stress distribution, and deformation of the tank were obtained. The results show that the mass accumulation of water particles occurs in the acceleration stage, the relative center of gravity changes greatly in less water, and the accumulated liquid greatly influences the tank under the action of inertia. The more liquid in the tank is, the more the impact effect on the tank increases. The analysis results provide some reference for the analysis and design of tank anti-sway plates and flight attitude adjustment.

Liquid Sloshing in Soil-Supported Multiple Cylindrical Tanks Equipped with Baffle under Horizontal Excitation

The dynamic behavior of liquid storage tanks is one of the research issues about fluid–structure interaction problems. The analysis errors of the dynamics of multiple adjacent tanks can exist if neglecting soil–tank interaction since tanks are typically supported on flexible soil. In the present paper, the dynamics of a group of baffled cylindrical storage tanks supported on a circular surface foundation and undergoing horizontal excitation are analytically examined. For upper multiple tank–liquid–baffle subsystems, accurate solutions to the velocity potential for liquid sloshing are acquired according to the subdomain partition technique. A theoretical model is utilized to portray the continuous sloshing of each tank. For the soil–foundation subsystem, a lumped-parameter model is used to characterize the impacts of soil on upper-tank structures using Chebyshev complex polynomials that present the fitting results of horizontal, rocking, and coupling impedance functions. Then, a model of the soil–foundation–tank–liquid–baffle system is constructed on the basis of the substructure approach. The present sloshing frequencies, sloshing height, and hydrodynamic shear as well as the moment under rigid/soft soil foundations are compared to the available exact results and the numerical results to prove the validity of the present model. The error of the maximum sloshing height between the present and the numerical solutions is within 5.27%; the solution efficiency of system dynamics from the present model is 40–50 times faster than that from the ADINA model. A detailed parameter analysis of the dynamic characteristics and earthquake responses of the coupling system is presented. The research novelty is that an equivalent analytical model is presented, and it allows for investigating the dynamics of soil-supported multiple cylindrical tanks with a baffle, providing acceptable accuracy and high calculation efficiency.

Numerical simulation of liquid sloshing in a spherical tank by MPS method

Numerical simulation of liquid sloshing in a spherical tank by MPS method

An Experimental Study of Three-Dimensional Separation Surface Sloshing in the Wet Storage Tank of a Floating Offshore Platform

In this work, in order to elucidate the three-dimensional (3D) resonant sloshing dynamics of the oil–water interface in an offshore cylindrical wet storage tank, a series of model experiments are conducted in a completely filled cylindrical tank containing two immiscible liquids. To begin with, a series of free damping tests are performed to experimentally determine the viscous damping rate of the system and to examine the corresponding theoretical solutions. Subsequently, the separation surface wave responses at a series of excitation frequencies including the natural frequencies of first five modes are examined. Finally, the rotary sloshing dynamics at the natural frequencies of the first and second natural modes are systematically explored. Interestingly, it is found that the separation surface rotary sloshing in a two-layer liquid system is much more intricate than one-layer liquid rotary sloshing due to the generation of multitudinous short waves in the long wave. As far as we know, this is the first investigation of 3D separation surface rotary wave motion in a two-layer liquid system without a free surface.

Effect of the pore parameters of the perforated baffle on the control of liquid sloshing

The phenomenon of liquid sloshing inside a tank has a significant negative impact on the safety of the vessel. Installing perforated baffles is considered an effective means of mitigating liquid sloshing. This study investigated the influence of pore parameters on the anti-sloshing effectiveness of baffles. The simulations were performed using STAR-CCM+. In the numerical simulation of the tank sloshing, we have adjusted the factors in the k-ε model to obtain more approximate results compared to the experiments. By changing variables such as the porosity, degree of porosity, and pore distribution of the baffles, the results of the numerical simulations were compared to analyze their performance. Different combinations of porosity and porosity degree parameters have varying effects on sloshing factors such as the wave height, pressure, and rolling moment of the liquid tank. The perforated baffle performed well at restraining the slamming load. The findings also indicate that the effects of porosity are greater than those of the pore distribution. In most cases, an even pore distribution is more effective. These results can provide guidelines for the optimal design of vertical porous baffles.

An efficient localized Trefftz method for the simulation of two-dimensional sloshing behaviors

This study proposes a new method for effectively and accurately simulating sloshing in a two-dimensional numerical tank. This technique uses the localized Trefftz method (LTM), a meshless numerical approach. Sloshing in a numerical tank is mathematically described as a space-time boundary-value problem rooted in potential flow theory. This occurrence is governed by a second-order partial differential equation and two nonlinear free-surface boundary conditions. In this study, the moving boundary problem undergoes discretization in time and space by using the LTM and the explicit Euler method, respectively. After discretization with the explicit Euler method, the elevation of the free surface is updated, and a boundary-value problem is generated at each time step. This boundary-value problem can be effectively examined using the recently developed LTM, which eliminates the need for complex meshing. Contrary to conventional methods, such as the method of fundamental solutions and the boundary element method, the LTM generates sparse matrices, allowing large-scale numerical simulations. Four numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the clarity and accuracy of the proposed meshless approach.

Numerical investigation of liquid sloshing in 2D flexible tanks subjected to complex external loading

Due to the complexity of fluid–structure interactions (FSI), the majority of studies in the literature dealing with the sloshing problem are restricted to rigid tanks. This paper is devoted to a numerical investigation of the liquid sloshing behavior in a flexible tank subjected to external loading. A numerical methodology is proposed, taking into account the FSI problem by coupling two open-source codes: OpenFOAM for the fluid and FEniCS for the solid, using the preCICE library, a free library for fluid–structure interaction. The Arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian formulation is used for the two-phase flow system to solve the Navier–Stokes equations in the fluid domain using the finite volume method. Simultaneously, the linear-elastic equation of the structure is solved using the finite element method. An implicit coupling scheme is considered at the fluid–structure interface. The numerical methodology is validated by the results given in literature for harmonic excitation at different frequencies. Subsequently, an analysis of complex external loading, such as Gabor wavelets and earthquake ground motion, is conducted to highlight the significant impact of the wall flexibility on sloshing, as well as the influence of hydrodynamic forces on the structure’s deformation. The proposed coupling methodology is robust and effective, it can be applied to all types of liquids and materials. A dataset of one of the studied cases is given as a supplement to the paper (Kha et al., 2024).

Effects of seismic characteristics and baffle damping on liquid sloshing

The present work concentrates on liquid sloshing in tanks under real seismic excitations with various frequency contents [the ratio of peak ground acceleration (PGA) to peak ground velocity (PGV)] by a finite-difference turbulent model. The turbulence is modeled by the large eddy simulation, and the fluid–structure interaction is resolved by the Virtual Boundary Force method. Thirteen seismic records, covering the low, intermediate and high frequency contents, are adopted to excite nonlinear sloshing waves. Both sloshing wave and hydrodynamic pressure are recorded, and their correlations with the filling level, PGA, PGV and frequency content have been identified. The findings suggest that (1) the sloshing responses are in general positively correlated with the filling level; (2) the sloshing height strongly relates to PGV and frequency content, and the seismic excitation of low frequency and meantime with a larger PGV can trigger more violent sloshing waves than others; and (3) the dynamic pressure along the tank sidewall decreases from the bottom up, which is dominated by PGA at the lower part but the stronger correlation is established with PGV and frequency content at the upper part. Finally, to damp severe sloshing waves, the horizontal, vertical and coupled horizontal and vertical baffles are introduced, and their inhibiting effects are discussed. The present work may guide the design of partially filled storage tanks under seismic excitations.

Smoothed-Particle Hydrodynamics Simulation of Ship Motion and Tank Sloshing under the Effect of Regular Waves

Smoothed-Particle Hydrodynamics Simulation of Ship Motion and Tank Sloshing under the Effect of Regular Waves

Numerical investigation on the effects of wave suppression baffles in vehicle-integrated water tanks

The danger of liquid sloshing in pump-driven water tanks has significantly increased due to the growing need to integrate a water tank into new energy vehicles. The best approach to reduce the negative effects of liquid sloshing is to add baffles to the integrated water tank. The addition of baffles to integrated water tanks to reduce liquid sloshing is investigated in this study using the discontinuous mesh approach and the coupled level set and volume of fluid (CLSVOF) method. Comparative experiments and simulations are used to confirm the reliability of the method. In this study, the length ratio, distance to initial free surface, and angle of the added baffle are taken into consideration. The free surface height, magnitude velocity, turbulence energy, and flow field are used to assess the impact of the baffle on the suppression of liquid sloshing. The addition of baffles can improve the liquid sloshing phenomenon caused by the pump excitation conditions in the integrated water tank, increase the volume suction of liquid, inhibit the height of the wave and reduce the liquid flow rate in the tank. Also, at the depth where the baffle has the most obvious suppression effect, the deeper the baffle, the lower the height of the free surface in the tank and the lower the average magnitude velocity in the tank cross-section. The baffle reduces the height of the free surface in the tank to 6.39 mm, and the magnitude of maximum average velocity in the tank cross-section is reduced to 0.12 m/s.

Numerical and Experimental Investigation of the Dynamics of a U-Shaped Sloshing Tank to Increase the Performance of Wave Energy Converters

In this investigation, a comprehensive study was conducted on a U-shaped sloshing tank, based on reversing the classical treatment of such devices as motion stabilizers and using them instead to improve the performance of wave energy converters. The modeling encompasses a comparative analysis between a linear model and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations. The validation of the CFD methodology was rigorously executed via a series of experimental tests, subsequently enhancing the linear model. The refined linear model demonstrates a notable alignment with rigorously verified results, thus establishing itself as a reliable tool for advanced research, indicating promise for various applications. Furthermore, this novelty is addressed by simulating the integration of a U-tank device with a pitch-based wave energy converter, displaying a broadening of the operational bandwidth and a substantial performance improvement, raising the pitch motion of the floater to about 850% in correspondence with the new secondary peak over extended periods, effectively addressing previously identified limitations. This achievement contributes to the system’s practical relevance in marine energy conversion.