A nonlinear numerical model for sloshing motion in tuned liquid dampers

Purpose This paper presents a new numerical model that, unlike most existing ones, can solve the whole liquid sloshing, nonlinear, moving boundary problem with free surface undergoing small to very large deformations without imposing any linearization assumptions. Design/methodology/approach The time‐dependent, unknown, irregular physical domain is mapped onto a rectangular computational domain. The explicit form of the mapping function is unknown and is determined as part of the solution. Temporal discretization is based on one‐step implicit method. Second‐order, finite‐difference approximations are used for spatial discretizations. Findings The performance of the algorithm has been verified through convergence tests. Comparison between numerical and experimental results has indicated that the algorithm can accurately predict the sloshing motion of the liquid undergoing large interfacial deformations. Originality/value The ability to model liquid sloshing motion under conditions leading to large interfacial deformations utilizing the model presented in this paper improves our ability to understand the problem of sloshing motion in tuned liquid dampers (TLDs), which would eventually help in constructing more effective TLDs.