Sloshing analysis of rectangular tanks with a submerged structure by using small-amplitude water wave theory

A new sloshing analysis method for rectangular tank systems with a submerged structure are proposed by using the velocity potential and the linear water wave theory. The velocity potential functions are obtained by decomposing the surface wave into a wall-induced wave, reflected and transmitted waves, and a scattered wave. A simplified method using a response spectrum for zero damping is also proposed. The results of the simplified method are in good agreement with those of the analytical method. The sloshing response of the fluid-structure system is found to be very sensitive to the characteristics of the ground motion and the configuration of the system. Under typical earthquakes, the submerged structure shows a tendency to decrease sloshing amplitude, hydrodynamic pressure, and base shear, while it shows a tendency to increase the overturning moment. For the ground excitation dominated by low-frequency contents, the sloshing response increases significantly and the contribution of the higher sloshing modes increases. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.