Viscous oscillations in a circular cylinder with an elastic cover on the free surface

Abstract

The effects of an elastic membrane on the viscous oscillations of liquid filling a circular cylindrical container are studied by using the natural viscous complex eigenfunctions of the problem. The free surface of the liquid is assumed to be fully covered by the membrane. By projecting the governing equations onto an appropriate basis, a nonlinear eigenvalue problem for the complex frequencies is obtained. This is then solved to obtain the modal frequencies as a function of the Reynolds number Re, the tension parameter τ, the mass parameter ζ and the liquid depth h. The zero velocity conditions on both the side and bottom walls are satisfied unlike in earlier studies where either only the sidewall or only the bottom wall conditions were met. Results are presented for the four lowest non-axisymmetric modes as a function of Re, h, τ and ζ. The elastic cover increases the slosh frequencies but only in comparison with an uncovered free surface with a contact line that is free to move; the frequencies are lower when compared with those of a free surface with pinned contact line. There are ranges of Re, h, τ and ζ for which the oscillations are overdamped and the sloshing is aperiodic. Though the frequencies and damping rates decrease for an increasing mass of the elastic cover, there exist ranges of Re, h and τ for which the heavier cover produces higher slosh frequencies.

Damping of liquid sloshing by foams

“…Therefore, the characterization of the amplitude of the waves and the exploration of mechanisms capable of damping sloshing is of critical importance. To damp sloshing, various methods have been considered including the use of elastic membranes attached to the top of a container, [11][12][13] or baffles placed in a container. 14,15 The use of containers with elastic walls was also considered.…”