Experimental study on vertical baffles of different configurations in suppressing sloshing pressure

The effectiveness of four types of the baffles in suppressing pressure is experimentally investigated under a wide range of forcing frequencies. The dynamic impact pressure variations alongside the central line of the tank wall and the baffle response to different excitation frequencies were measured for tanks without baffles and with immersed bottom-mounted vertical baffles, vertical baffles flushing with free surface, surface-piercing bottom-mounted vertical baffles and perforated vertical baffles, respectively. The maximum impact pressure on the tank wall generally increases with decreasing the distance of the pressure sensor away from the free surface. In the frequency range from 0.4ω1 to 1.4ω1, the vertical baffle flushing with free surface is an more effective tool on reducing impact pressure comparing with the immersed bottom-mounted vertical baffle, especially near the first-mode natural frequency, and effects of the perforated vertical baffle in suppressing sloshing pressure is more significant than that of the surface-piercing bottom-mounted vertical baffle, especially in high forcing frequency region. It is found that the first-mode natural frequency of liquid-tank is altered by the vertical baffles. The experimental results show that changing flow fields and altering natural frequency may effectively suppress the impact pressure on the tank walls.