Reduction of sloshing effects in a rectangular tank through an air-trapping mechanism – a numerical study

A 2D rectangular tank subjected to horizontal excitations is used to analyze the effects of sloshing. The tank is fitted with horizontal baffles on two sides to suppress the impact pressure of sloshing by using an air-trapping mechanism. The volume of fluid method is adopted to create sloshing phenomena. Five cases with fixed baffle gaps and various baffle lengths are used to analyze the effects of suppressing the sloshing impact pressure in the tank. The peak pressure values of the cases with baffles are compared with those of the cases without baffles. Results show that the maximum suppression rate achieved is 63.6 % due to air trapping and baffle effects. Baffle ratio (Defined by G/L), a geometrical dimensionless factor, is considered to analyze the effects of baffle length and gap. A baffle ratio of 0.5 results in a 14.2 % reduction in the sloshing impact rate. An increasing amount of air is trapped within the baffle array as BR decreases