This document presents a numerical simulation of water sloshing in a rectangular tank. It discusses sloshing excitations like lateral, vertical, and rotational sloshing. It then outlines the objectives, methodology, and results of simulating sloshing in a 560mm by 180mm rectangular tank using ANSYS Fluent. The analysis considers different fill levels and time-dependent velocities to model real-world scenarios like a braking tanker. Volume fraction contours show the free surface of the air-water interface over time.
This document presents a numerical simulation of water sloshing in a rectangular tank. It discusses sloshing excitations like lateral, vertical, and rotational sloshing. It then outlines the objectives, methodology, and results of simulating sloshing in a 560mm by 180mm rectangular tank using ANSYS Fluent. The analysis considers different fill levels and time-dependent velocities to model real-world scenarios like a braking tanker. Volume fraction contours show the free surface of the air-water interface over time.
This document presents a numerical simulation of water sloshing in a rectangular tank. It discusses sloshing excitations like lateral, vertical, and rotational sloshing. It then outlines the objectives, methodology, and results of simulating sloshing in a 560mm by 180mm rectangular tank using ANSYS Fluent. The analysis considers different fill levels and time-dependent velocities to model real-world scenarios like a braking tanker. Volume fraction contours show the free surface of the air-water interface over time.
This document presents a numerical simulation of water sloshing in a rectangular tank. It discusses sloshing excitations like lateral, vertical, and rotational sloshing. It then outlines the objectives, methodology, and results of simulating sloshing in a 560mm by 180mm rectangular tank using ANSYS Fluent. The analysis considers different fill levels and time-dependent velocities to model real-world scenarios like a braking tanker. Volume fraction contours show the free surface of the air-water interface over time.
Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Engineering at PIEAS in partial fulfillment of
requirements for the Degree of B.S. Mechanical Engineering
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Pakistan Institute of Engineering & Applied Sciences Nilore, Islamabad, Pakistan Jan 2024 Table of Contents Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... 2
ii List of Figures Figure 1: Geometry in design modeler................................................................................... 4 Figure 2: Mesh Independence Graph .................................................................................... 5 Figure 3: Contour at t=1.14 s .................................................................................................. 7 Figure 4:Contour at t=1.34 s ................................................................................................... 7 Figure 5: Contour at t=2.04 s .................................................................................................. 8 Figure 6: Contour at t=2.17 s .................................................................................................. 8 Figure 7: Contour at t=1.14 s .................................................................................................. 9 Figure 8:Contour at t=1.34 s ................................................................................................... 9 Figure 9: Contour at t=2.04 s ................................................................................................ 10 Figure 10: Contour at t=2.17 s after impact ........................................................................ 10 Figure 11: Contour at t=2.97 s after impact ........................................................................ 11 Figure 12: Contour at t=0.58 s ................................................................................................. 11 Figure 13:Contour at t=3.2 s after impact ........................................................................... 12 Figure 14: Contour at t=3.4 s after collision ........................................................................ 12
List of Tables Table 1: Boundary Conditions used. ...................................................................................... 6 Table 2: Solution Initialization values .................................................................................... 6
iii Abstract Sloshing refers to movement of a liquid with splashing sound inside an object which itself may or may not be moving. Sloshing has a key role in every field of science and engineering. Since humans have stepped into the industrial age, they have been designing and manufacturing various engineering machines for daily and commercial use. Before engineers design an object, they look for design constraints and considerations. Mechanical vibrations are inevitable design consideration which engineers must account for. Vehicles carrying fluids inside containers come across accidents due to instability, reason behind this instability is none but sloshing (vibrations) inside container carrying fluid. This report presents the steps involved in analysis of two-dimensional tank subjected to sloshing loads. A two-dimensional tank (560 by 180) mm was designed and analysed using ANSYS fluent. This study presents a comprehensive computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of sloshing phenomena within a 2D rectangular tank subjected to frame motion. The tank is excited by a user-defined function of velocity, simulating real-world scenarios where external forces influence fluid behavior. The primary focus lies in capturing the free surface of air-water interface, depicted through volume fraction contours. The analysis was done for various fill levels and different time dependent velocities. Here the real-life scenario that best matches current analysis is a tanker that is moving with certain acceleration and suddenly brakes are applied, and tanker is stopped.
Introduction Liquid cargo trade in the world is one of the largest trademarks in the world. All the liquids of daily, commercial, and industrial use are transferred from one place to another using liquid tankers. The diversity of fluids transferred via tankers is exceptionally large. It includes eatables, daily usage materials, toxins, fire-hazardous equipment and many more. Fluid transportation in tankers is not only common on earth but it is also popular in space vehicles. Common problems faced during transportation of liquids and gases are spillage, explosions, and accidents due to instability of vehicles carrying a liquid for transportation. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is still intriguing into this field as they lost their air-vehicles sent to Mars, just because of instability due to sloshing.
After the progression of CFD in the modern period, due to advancement in computers in the 1980s and a brief time later gave a revival to the field of fluid sloshing. In the wake of understanding the significance of recreating the experimental results utilizing CFD bundles,
2 researchers currently first approve the model and afterwards extrapolate the results to make forecasts.
Sloshing Disturbances or Excitations
Sloshing disturbance or excitation refers to ways in which a liquid or gas is disturbed from its quite position or its mean position by application of a force. There are three means to excite a liquid or a gas.
Lateral Sloshing When a liquid is excited or disturbed by means of pitching motion of the container, the sloshing is called lateral sloshing.
Vertical Sloshing Vertical sloshing takes place when force applied on the liquid is perpendicular to liquid surface.
Rotational Sloshing When container rotates, liquid experiences swirling or rotational sloshing. In this method, the focus is upon lateral sloshing only due to its less complex nature.
Applications Sloshing has its applications in every field of science. This phenomenon finds its application in Tuned Liquid Dampers (TLDs). TLDs are used to slow down intense vibrations in skyscrapers during earthquake times. TLDs are structural vibration control devices. They have no moving parts, and they can be reshaped according to need. Liquid above the stack absorbs the energy imparted to building. TLD acts as dynamic vibration absorber when the natural frequency of the stack is tuned to TLD.
TLD is nowadays used in Japan to damp out earthquake seismic waves. The fluid used in the TLD has the capability to absorb unwanted and irregular vibrations of seismic waves and stabilize the building on which it is installed. Moreover, TLD has a control force mechanism to absorb controlled vibrations from the buildings and provide comfort to the residents.
3 Objectives • To design the 2D tank using design modeler in fluent. • To discretize it • To perform fluent analysis to capture free-surface of air-water interface using volume fraction contours.
Methodology Here is the detailed methodology of analysis performed on ANSYS fluent.
Geometry Geometry was designed using design modeler in ANSYS fluent. 2D surface was generated using surface from sketches in design modeler.
Figure 1: Geometry in design modeler
4 Mesh As it is two-dimensional geometry, the mesh type used was uniform with fine relevance center. The number of mesh elements was 6290.
Mesh Independence Mesh independence refers to the state where the solution of a numerical simulation remains relatively unchanged with varying levels of mesh refinement. Achieving mesh independence is crucial as it ensures that the simulation results are robust and not overly influenced by the mesh resolution, enhancing the reliability of the analysis. Here the parameter used for checking mesh independence is dynamic pressure exerted by water slosh on wall.
Mesh Independence 5500
5300 Pressure-Pa
5100
4900
4700
4500 4000 4500 5000 5500 6000 6500 7000 7500 Number of mesh elements
Figure 2: Mesh Independence Graph
5 Boundary Conditions and Models Here is the list of boundary conditions used in the analysis.
Table 1: Boundary Conditions used.
Zone Conditions Domain 1- Water Domain 2- Air Domain 1 motion UDF-User Defined Function Domain 2 motion UDF-User Defined Function
Models Used Volume of Fluid (VoF) Explicit Algorithm has been used for multiphase flow. In Fluent, Volume of Fluid (VoF) is a numerical method used for simulating multiphase flows. It tracks and computes the volume fractions of different fluid phases within a computational domain. VoF is crucial for accurately predicting complex fluid interactions, such as free surface flows and fluid-fluid interfaces, in multiphase flow analyses. Air and water were used as two fluids.
Solution Initialization Solution was initialized with following parameters.
Table 2: Solution Initialization values
Parameter Value
X-velocity 0
Y-velocity 0
Y-velocity 0
Volume fraction of water 0
Patching Patching in ANSYS Fluent involves defining specific regions or patches within a computational domain. It's used to apply boundary conditions or initialize specific parameters
6 in designated areas. This technique is crucial for tailoring simulations to specific requirements, allowing localized control over conditions or properties for more accurate and realistic results.
Here Patching was done for defining water level in container. As three cases were analyzed here, for the first two water level was 50%, and for third case it was 75%.
Results The results here are shown in the form of contours of water and air at different time steps.
Case 1 The excitation given to the domains is given below as
𝑉(𝑡) = 0.0403𝑡 0.85
And the fill level for this case is 50%.
Figure 3: Contour at t=1.14 s
Figure 4:Contour at t=1.34 s
7 Figure 5: Contour at t=2.04 s
Figure 6: Contour at t=2.17 s
Case 2 The excitation given to the domains is given below as
𝑉(𝑡) = 0.768𝑡 0.89
And the fill level for this case is 50%.
8 Figure 7: Contour at t=1.14 s
Figure 8:Contour at t=1.34 s
9 Figure 9: Contour at t=2.04 s
Figure 10: Contour at t=2.17 s after impact
10 Figure 11: Contour at t=2.97 s after impact
Case 3 The excitation given to the domains is given below as
𝑉(𝑡) = 0.33𝑡 0.84
And the fill level for this case is 75%.
Figure 12: Contour at t=0.58 s
11 Figure 13:Contour at t=3.2 s after impact
Figure 14: Contour at t=3.4 s after collision
12 Conclusion In conclusion, the CFD analysis of sloshing phenomena in a two-dimensional rectangular tank subjected to frame motion provides valuable insights into fluid-structure interactions. The study successfully captures the air-water interface dynamics through volume fraction contours, revealing the impact of varying fill levels and time-dependent velocities. The results align with existing literature, emphasizing the significance of considering sloshing effects in engineering design, particularly for vehicles transporting fluids.
13 References
[1] L. Khezzar , "Water Sloshing in Rectangular Tanks – An Experimental and Numerical Simulation," International Journal of Engineering (IJE), vol. 3, no. 2, 2002.
