A numerical technique for sloshing in an independent type C LNG tank with experimental investigation and validation

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Liu, Ge^a | Lin, Yan^{a; b; *} | Guan, Guan^a | Yu, Yan-yun^a

Affiliations: [a] School of Naval Architecture, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China. E-mail: linyanly@dlut.edu.cn | [b] State Key Laboratory of Structural Analysis for Industrial Equipment, Dalian 116024, China

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author. E-mail: linyanly@dlut.edu.cn.

Abstract: The sloshing induced by partial loading is violent when a resonance condition occurs. Given strong nonlinearity, rapid and accurate prediction of sloshing loads under resonance conditions is the key factor in the design of LNG (liquefied natural gas) cargo tanks. Therefore, a numerical technique based on CFD (computational fluid dynamics) technique was developed for sloshing simulations. Next, a series of physical tests were designed to validate its accuracy. Sloshing characteristics under resonance conditions is discussed experimentally by profiling the free surface and sloshing loads. The resonant test conditions were selected for simulations. Both the shape of the free surface and the sloshing pressure were compared with the test results. The computational model and parameters were also verified. It can be proven that based on reductions in the large computational expense, the numerical simulation has good accuracy for sloshing simulations.

Keywords: Sloshing, resonance, independent type C LNG tank, numerical simulation, experimental investigation

DOI: 10.3233/ISP-170138

Journal: International Shipbuilding Progress, vol. 64, no. 1-2, pp. 79-100, 2017