Dynamic Response of Tank Containing Two Liquids

Abstract

A study on the dynamic response of upright circular cylindrical liquid‐storage tanks containing two different liquids under a horizontal base motion with an arbitrary temporal variation is presented. Only rigid tanks were studied. The response functions examined include the base shear, base moments, and hydrodynamic pressure on the tank wall and base. Unlike the cases of tanks containing one liquid, in which the response is controlled by one parameter, height‐to‐radius ratio, the responses of tanks that contain two different liquids are controlled by three parameters: height‐to‐radius ratio, mass density ratio, and height ratio of the two liquids. The response functions are evaluated for a wide range of values for each parameter; the results are presented in graphic forms. The study shows that the dynamic response of a tank filled with two liquids is quite different from that of an identical tank filled with only one liquid; the maximum sloshing wave height may increase significantly, and the fundamental period of the sloshing motion is longer in a tank containing two liquids.