COMPUTATIONAL MODELING OF LIQUID SLOSHING IN PARTITIONED TANKS

Abstract

This study develops numerical approaches for analyzing the stability of fluid motion in tanks with partitions of various configurations. The stability of sloshing in horizontally and vertically partitioned tanks is of theoretical and practical importance for aerospace, marine, and terrestrial liquid storage systems. Partitions significantly alter sloshing dynamics by modifying the freesurface frequency spectrum, vortex structures, energy localization, and resonance onset. Neglecting these effects may compromise safety, increase dynamic loads, and reduce system reliability. Experimental investigation of such processes is costly, technically challenging, and often hazardous, requiring large facilities, expensive equipment, and strict safety protocols. In contrast, computational modeling offers a safe and cost-effective tool for exploring a broad range of operating regimes. In this work, potential theory and singular integral equations are combined with the boundary element method, the subdomain method, and the method of prescribed normal modes. The effects of horizontal and vertical excitations are studied for both unpartitioned and partitioned tanks. Parametric regions of stable and unstable motion are identified. The results show that horizontal and vertical partitions strongly affect fluid stability in tanks. These findings are directly applicable to improving the safety of tank systems in aerospace, marine, and energy engineering.