Motion Responses of a Berthed Tank under Resonance Coupling Effect of Internal Sloshing and Gap Flow

Abstract

The growth of global energy transportation has promoted the rapid increase of large-scale LNG (liquefied natural gas) carriers, and concerns around the safety of LNG ships has attracted significant attention. Such a floating structure is affected by the external wave excitation and internal liquid sloshing. The interaction between the structure’s motion and the internal sloshing under wave actions may lead to the ship experiencing an unexpected accident. In this research, a hydrodynamic experiment is conducted to investigate the motion responses of a floating tank mooring, both close to and away from a dock. The resonance coupling effect of the internal sloshing and gap flow on the tank’s motion is considered. Based on the measured motion trajectory of the floating tank, the stability and safety of the floating tank are estimated. The results show that the sloshing resonance and narrow gap resonance are beneficial to the stability of the ship. This is helpful for controlling the motion of a berthed ship under wave action with a reasonable selection of the gap distance and the liquid level.