Along with the continuous evolution of computation, one of the important topics recently on the rise is the violent free surface phenomenon that includes green water, sloshing and slamming. In simulating such a complex phenomenon, Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) provides a convenient alternative to the conventional Eulerian schemes. However, SPH method is computationally expensive. So, using GPU accelerated SPH method of DualSPHysics software, this paper presents the evolution of flip-through event created in a 2-D and 3-D sloshing tank with partially filled water and validating with the comparative simulation study to experimental results (Lugni et al., 2014).
Sloshing phenomenon refers to the oscillation of liquid inside a partially filled container due to the external forces. With the recent trend towards LNG's development, this phenomenon is becoming more and more important. When the amplitude of excitation is large enough or frequency is near to the natural frequency of the sloshing, it can create violent oscillations and frequently results in wave impact phenomenon on container walls which is a threat to the structural integrity and safety of the LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) carriers (Ibrahim, 2005). Liquid sloshing is a complex phenomenon which involves non-linear free surface and fluid-structure interaction (Lugni et al., 2014) which made this phenomenon as one of the classic hydrodynamics problems.
Although till now, extensive research has been devoted to the sloshing phenomenon through experimental (Souto-Iglesias et al., 2011) and theoretical studies (Ibrahim, 2005; D. Liu and Lin, 2008), the full understanding of the physical phenomena and accurate evaluation of sloshing flows and sloshing-induced impact loads is a challenge for researchers. On the other hand, theoretical researches such as the linear potential theory are applicable only for the simpler case such as linear or quasi non-linear liquid sloshing. Although there are theoretical approaches such as Faltinsen (2000) which is valid for the non-linear sloshing models, assumes the fluid to be inviscid and non-turbulent in nature. In addition to that, although the grid-based Navier-Stokes equation has an extensive popularly in numerical simulation, it has limitations in handling the special phenomenon such as large deformations and high-velocity impacts (Liu and Liu, 2003).