Vibrations of partially filled cylindrical tanks with ring-stiffeners and flexible bottom

The dynamics of a tank partially filled with a liquid having a free surface is investigated. In the analysis, the effect of free surface waves is taken into account, so that both bulging and sloshing modes are studied. The structure is completely flexible, and is composed of a vertically standing circular cylindrical shell, with ring-stiffeners, and a flexible bottom that consists of a circular plate generally resting on an elastic Winkler foundation. The plate edge is joined to the shell by coupling rotational springs distributed around the edge. The interaction between the plate and the shell via the fluid is included. Application to the particular cases of (i) a flexible shell with a rigid bottom and (ii) a flexible bottom plate with a rigid cylinder are also presented, as well as a comparison with approximate theories. Ring-stiffeners on the shell are also considered in order to investigate their influence on the modal behaviour of the tank. Solution of this problem is achieved via the method of artificial springs within the framework of the Rayleigh-Ritz theory, while considering strong fluid-structure interaction. (C) 1998 Academic Press Limited.