Slosh Dynamics of Liquid Filled Baffled Tank under Seismic Excitations

Abstract

Seismic behavior of partially-filled rigid,rectangular liquid tank, with wall-mounted horizontal baffles, is numerically simulated using finite element method. A velocity potential based Galerkin-finite element model is developed for the numerical analysis. The dynamic behavior manifested in terms of sloshing elevation, base shear and overturning base moment are studied. The effect of position and dimension of the baffle on the above hydrodynamic parameters are investigated. It is observed that the baffle has significant influence on the free and forced vibration characteristics of the tank-liquid system. The sensitivity of the sloshing frequencies to the width of the baffle increases as the baffle position shifts towards the free surface of the liquid. For a given position of the baffle, the sloshing frequencies decrease with increase in the width of the baffle. It is concluded that decrease in sloshing elevation does not necessarily guarantee decrease in the hydrodynamic forces.