Evaluate pressure drop of slat screen in an oscillating fluid in a tuned liquid damper

Tuned liquid dampers (TLDs) are considered economical and effective dynamic vibration absorbers. Using of slat screens in TLDs can increase the inherent damping factor of TLDs. In many former numerical efforts, screens were modeled as a hydraulic resistance point as a function of the screen solidity ratio without the ability to consider the effect of the screen pattern. Clear understanding of the pressure drop across the slat screens, as the major factor for controlling the inherent damping of TLDs, enrolls a great effect on improving the performance of TLDs. Two slat screens with the same solidity ratio and different patterns could cause the different levels of the pressure drop and so inherent damping in TLDs. In the developed algorithm, the fluid flow through the screen is fully resolved and the effect of the screen pattern on the TLD's performance is taken into account. The numerical results of the developed algorithm have been validated against experimental work. Using this algorithm, a new pressure drop model for the slat screens has been developed considering the effects of the screen pattern through introducing two new concepts called the effective solidity ratio (Seff) and the slat ratio (SR) which they can imply the physical significance of screen pattern.