Coupled Dynamic Response of Liquid Filled Composite Cylindrical Tanks With Baffles

The slosh frequencies of liquid in a liquid-filled cylindrical tank, made of laminated composites, are investigated in the present paper. An annular laminated plate is used as a baffle, which is fitted to the inner periphery of a cylindrical tank. Finite element codes are accordingly developed and are then used to analyze both the liquid domain and the structural domain i.e., the tank and the baffle. The slosh frequencies of liquid are computed for different dimensions and positions of the baffle. The coupled vibration frequencies of the tank-baffle system are computed considering the effect of sloshing of liquid. The asymmetric modes corresponding to circumferential wave number one are studied in the present investigation. The results obtained for a liquid filled elastic isotropic tank without baffle and a rigid tank with rigid baffle are compared with the available results, and they are found to be in good agreement. The results for composite tanks cover the effects of a wide range of parameters including composite baffles as well as different lamination schemes and number of layers of the tank wall on the slosh frequencies and coupled vibration frequencies.