Sloshing of fluid in a baffled rectangular aqueduct considering soil-structure interaction

Abstract

Abstract The dynamic characteristics and responses of a baffled rectangular aqueduct supported on the flexible soil under the horizontal seismic input acceleration are studied. The linear potential theory and subdomain method are adopted in the analysis of fluid motion. An equivalent mechanical model is innovatively established for liquid sloshing. The dynamic responses of the fluid-aqueduct coupling system due to the horizontal excitation is obtained, and an equivalent mechanical model is established on the basis of equivalent principle. The nested lumped parameter model is used to represent the dynamic stiffness function with the frequency dependence. Based on the substructure method, the soil-aqueduct-fluid coupling system is constructed. Dynamic responses of the coupling system are acquired by the Newmark-β method. The numerical results are compared with other results from available literatures. Excellent agreements are observed. Finally, parametric studies are carried out to estimate the effects of baffle parameters and soil property on the natural characteristics and dynamic responses of aqueduct. The results indicate that the shear wave velocity and baffle have significant influence on the sloshing of fluid in a baffled aqueduct.