Learning Forum

[josejbustamante]

How do I define the Hydrostatic Acceleration?

I am working on a simulation of an aircraft fuel tank, where the the tank is supposed to withstand the crash of the aircraft. I defined the acceleration in the 3 axis, but then when I have to define the hydrostatic pressure I also have to define a "hydrostatic acceleration". I believe tha the magnitude and direction of the hydrostatic acceleration is the same as the acceleration of the body, but my question is about the sense. For example, if the acceleration of the body in the x axis is positive, will the hydrostatic acceleration in the x axis also be positive? Also, does this has to do something with the "free surface location"? I'm not sure how to define that either.

[Ashish Khemka]

Hi,

Specify the magnitude and direction of the Hydrostatic Acceleration. This is typically the acceleration due to gravity, but can be other acceleration values depending on the modeling scenario. For example, if you were modeling rocket fuel in a rocket’s fuel tank, the fuel might be undergoing a combination of acceleration due to gravity and acceleration due to the rocket accelerating while flying.

Acceleration can be used to simulate gravity (by using inertial effects) by accelerating a structure in the direction opposite of gravity (the natural phenomenon of). That is, accelerating a structure vertically upwards (+Y) at 9.80665 m/s2 (in metric units), applies a force on the structure in the opposite direction (-Y) inducing gravity (pushing the structure back towards earth).

Regards,

Ashish Khemka