Anti-sloshing effects of a vertical porous baffle in a rolling rectangular tank

The anti-sloshing effects of a vertical porous baffle placed at the center of a rolling rectangular tank have been investigated rigorously. The potential-based analytical solutions were developed using the matched eigenfunction expansion method (MEEM) with an equivalent linearized quadratic loss model. For this, the empirical formula of the drag coefficient was obtained through the curve-fitting with the CFD results for the channel flow with a circular void hole. In parallel with the analytical model, a 3D implicit turbulent model based on incompressible unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations was used with the volume of fluid (VOF) multiphase model. To validate the analytical and numerical model, experiments were conducted in a rolling rectangular tank with a fully/partially submerged porous baffle of different porosities. The acceptability and limitation of the present analytical model was quantified and qualified using experimental and numerical approach. The presented analytical and 3D turbulent numerical model will provide a mutually complementary tool for the understanding of the energy dissipation mechanism and efficient design of the porous baffle as an anti-sloshing device.