Equivalent mechanical models of sloshing fluid in arbitrary‐section aqueducts

This paper reports on a semi‐analytical/numerical method to model sloshing water in an arbitrarily shaped aqueduct. The water motion is assumed to be inviscid, compressible, and linear (small displacement). The transverse sloshing fluid in an aqueduct is equivalently simplified as a fixed rigid mass M₀ and a mass–spring system (M₁, K₁). According to a rule that the actual fluid (computed with finite element model) and its equivalent mechanical model have the same first sloshing frequency and acting effects on the aqueduct, the analytical solutions of the fixed (impulsive) mass M₀, sloshing (convective) massM₁, spring stiffness K₁, and their locations in the aqueduct body are acquired by the least squares (curve fitting) algorithm. Applying this equivalent principle, the equivalent mechanical models are respectively obtained for the sloshing water in rectangular, semicircular, U‐shaped, and trapezoid aqueducts. The equivalent principle and fluid models are validated through comparison investigations involving rectangular and U‐shaped aqueducts. The dynamic properties and seismic responses of the original and equivalent systems are simulated, compared, and discussed for a U‐shaped aqueduct bridge. The main purpose of this paper is to provide a simplified model of sloshing fluid for the seismic/wind‐resistant computation of the support structures of the aqueduct bridge. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.