Free Vibration Analysis of a Liquid in a Circular Cylindrical Rigid Tank Using the Hierarchical Finite Element Method

Abstract A hierarchical finite element is developed for the free vibration analysis of a liquid in a rigid cylindrical tank with or without a free surface. It is a hierarchical quadrilateral element and has the advantage that the hierarchical mode number is allowed to vary independently of direction. Liquid behavior in tanks with large aspect ratios can therefore be solved very accurately by using a higher hierarchical mode number in the longer direction than in the shorter one. Furthermore, it is possible to idealize the liquid by using only one element. The solution can therefore be obtained to any desired degree of accuracy simply by increasing the hierarchical mode number. In this method, the liquid behavior is described by the displacements alone. The pressure and velocity potential are not considered as unknowns. The results are compared with other methods and show good agreement.