An investigation into the influence of tank filling level on liquid sloshing effects onboard ships – static and dynamic approach

The commonly discussed main features of maritime transport are usually its safety and effectiveness. One of the most critical features of seagoing ships related to her safety is stability influencing ship's overall sea keeping performance. Vessels' stability calculation and evaluation, made on-board nowadays, is based on the stability criteria published by the ship’s classification societies. According to the IMO recommendations, the righting lever curve should be corrected for the effect of free surfaces of liquids in tanks. IMO-recommended methods of free surface correction calculation consider the static attitude towards the liquid sloshing phenomenon only. They also do not consider the location of the tank within the hull of the ship and the location of a rolling axis. The more precise and more realistic approach towards liquid movement is complex analysis of liquid sloshing phenomenon. As liquid sloshing taking part in partly filled ship's tanks is an important element affecting safety of maritime transportation process, there is a need for detailed analyses related to crucial parameters of the considered phenomenon. The paper is focused on an influence of tank's filling level on effects of aroused and sustained movement of ballast water, fuel and other liquids carried onboard ships. Both static and dynamic approaches towards the problem are utilized. The analytical methods for liquid weight transfer calculation and numerical simulations of the liquid sloshing phenomenon are applied. The simulations of liquid sloshing are based on Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stockes equation and they take into account the viscosity of liquid. The resultant heeling moment is decomposed into components enabling extraction of dynamical component differentiating the applied method from old static ones. The results of the study contribute to more precise ship safety evaluation.