Transient resonance of sloshing liquid with time-varying mass

Abstract

This study examines the sloshing of liquid with time-varying mass in a tank. A set of innovative experiments is carried out involving a shaking table supporting a water tank equipped with a drain pipe. Physical evidence of transient resonance is observed for the first time. Transient resonance occurs under specific excitation conditions when the instantaneous average water level (AWL) approaches a critical depth. During transient resonance, the oscillatory amplitude of the free-surface elevation increases sharply and then decreases in an envelope pattern. A bifurcation of the frequency band is first found in the Morlet-wavelet time–frequency spectrum, coinciding with the appearance of the maximum oscillatory amplitude. How the excitation conditions, drainage rate, and initial water depth affect transient resonance is recognized. Two mathematical models—one based on linear modal theory and the other based on nonlinear asymptotic theory and the Bateman–Luke variational principle—are derived to replicate the physical observations, by which application scopes of both models have been greatly broadened. The linear solution fails to predict the key feature of transient resonance, namely, the asymmetric envelopes of the oscillatory component about the AWL. By contrast, the nonlinear asymptotic solution captures this asymmetric feature accurately, and predicts both the steady and maximum oscillatory amplitudes well. The nonlinear solution is decomposed into terms of order 1/3, 2/3, and 1 using an asymptotic series for component analyses. A special nonlinear jump behavior is observed. The effects of draining and filling on transient resonance are compared.