Abstract:

An equivalent mechanical model for large-amplitude liquid sloshing in partially filled spherical tanks subject to lateral excitations is investigated in consideration of both translational and rotational excitations. A new equivalent mechanical model is established in this paper, and the hypothesis is first proposed that the static equilibrium liquid surface is perpendicular to the orientation of equivalent gravity. A better simulation of large-amplitude liquid sloshing is shown by decomposing large-amplitude motion of the liquid into bulk motion following the equivalent gravity and additional small-amplitude sloshing. The effectiveness and accuracy of the model are verified by comparing the sloshing forces and torques with results of the traditional equivalent model and Flow-3d. The model can be used for practical engineering problems such as hovering over moon and obstacle avoidance during lunar soft landing.

Key words: Liquid sloshing, Equivalent mechanical model, Static equilibrium, Large-amplitude sloshing, Spherical tank