A numerical study of the effects of bottom and sidewall stiffeners on sloshing behavior considering roll resonant motion

Abstract In the present study, aiming to provide practical guidance for the structural design, the effects of the small bottom and sidewall stiffeners on sloshing loads in shallow and intermediate liquid conditions are investigated numerically. The interaction between the highly nonlinear free surface flow and a large number of small stiffeners is modeled based on the Moving Particle Semi-implicit method. 2D models of a rectangular clean tank and tanks with small sidewalls or bottom stiffeners are considered. For filling ratios ranging from 5% to 20%, harmonic angular motions with periods around the analytical sloshing resonant ones are applied. Simulation snapshots and computed pressure time series, pressure variation, wave run-up, maximum fluid velocity, and kinetic energy were provided to clarify the complex interaction between the small baffles and the shallow free surface flow. As a result, except for the tanks with bottom stiffeners in shallow liquid conditions, in which the response under actual resonant frequency should be considered, the response computed using the clean tank excited by its resonant period can be adopted as a conservative estimation for the sloshing loads of actual tanks with small stiffeners.