Study on sloshing simulation in the independent tank for an ice-breaking LNG carrier

As the LNG carrier operates in ice covered waters, it is key to ensure the overall safety, which is related to the coupling effect of ice-breaking process and internal liquid sloshing. This paper focuses on the sloshing simulation of the ice-breaking LNG carrier, and the numerical method is proposed using Circumferential Crack Method (CCM) and Volume of Vluid (VOF) with two main key factors (velocity vx and force Fx). The ship motion analysis is carried out by CCM when the ship navigates in the ice-covered waters with a constant propulsion power. The velocity vx is gained, which is the initial excitation condition for the calculation of internal sloshing force Fx. Then, the ship motion is modified based on iterative computations under the union action of ice-breaking force and liquid sloshing load. The sloshing simulation under the LNG tank is studied with the modified ship motion. Moreover, an ice-breaking LNG ship with three-leaf type tank is used for case study. The internal LNG sloshing is simulated with three different liquid heights, including free surface shape and sloshing pressure distribution at a given moment, pressure curves at monitoring points on the bulkhead. This present method is effective to solve the sloshing simulation during ice-breaking process, which could be a good reference for the design of the polar ice-breaking LNG carrier.