Enhanced energy dissipation through 3D printed bottom geometry in Tuned Sloshing Dampers

Abstract This paper presents an experimental investigation about the dissipation properties of Tuned Sloshing Dampers (TSDs) characterized by different bottom geometries. An experimental campaign on sloped and rounded shaped TSDs is carried out considering a uni-directional harmonic base motion, by varying the water level and the excitation characteristics, i.e. amplitude and frequency. Results are compared with those obtained on a rectangular flat bottom TSD and benchmarked against a classic Tuned Mass Damper (TMD). The present study demonstrates that a TSD with a suitably modified bottom shape can significantly outperform a traditional flat-bottom TSD in terms of maximum amount of dissipated energy and robustness against frequency mistuning.