Liquid Sloshing in Partially Filled Capsule Storage Tank Undergoing Gravity Reduction to Low/Micro-Gravity Condition

Liquid sloshing in storage tanks is of critical concern for the fluid management in space. In the present study, oscillation of liquid in a partially filled capsule storage tank was numerically studied using the volume of fluid method and taking into account the dynamic contact angle. The filling ratios of tank ranging from 10% to 90% and the gravity levels of 10−3 g0 and 0 g0 were considered as the controlling variables. The temporal evolution of characteristic points of free surface and the law of oscillation frequencies were analyzed. The results show that for different filling ratios, the oscillations of free surfaces present different damping types, in which the small and large filling ratios correspond to the underdamping and the intermediate filling ratios to the critical damping. The present study provides fundamental insights into the free surface oscillations depending on the filling ratios and residual gravity level, which is useful for the corresponding utilization in space.