Sloshing analysis of viscous liquid storage tanks

The effect of viscosity on the sloshing response of tanks containing viscous liquids is studied using the in-house finite element computer code, FLUSTR-ANL. Two different tank sizes each filled at two levels, are modeled, and their dynamic responses under harmonic and seismic ground motions are simulated. The results are presented in terms of the wave height, and pressures at selected nodes and elements in the finite element mesh. The viscosity manifests itself as a damping effect, reducing the amplitudes. Under harmonic excitation, the dynamic response reaches the steady-state faster as the viscosity value becomes larger. The fundamental sloshing frequency for each study case stays virtually unaffected by an increase in viscosity. For the small tank case, a 5% difference is observed in the fundamental frequency of the smallest (1 cP) and the highest (1000 cP) viscosity cases considered in this study. The fundamental frequencies of the large tank are even less sensitive