Dynamic analysis of flexible container under wind actions by ALE finite-element method

In the case of a flexible container subjected to the wind loads, the container has a high susceptibility to flow-induced deformations and vibrations. This paper presents the work of numerical simulations about its dynamic responses under horizontal wind actions. The container body is assumed to be a Belytschko–Tsay membrane, which includes nonlinearities. Water movement and sloshing are modelled using multi-material ALE method. Interaction between the container and fluid is studied by penalty method, and the large eddy simulation (LES) method is used for simulating turbulence. This paper analyses the problems in container stability, deformation and stress distribution. The results indicate that the reinforcement belt cannot only reduce the container stress but also improve container stability in the wind domain. The maximum stress positions are on the lee side corner of the container. Variation in container vertical acceleration is much larger than the horizontal one.