Experimental And Analytical Simulation Of Liquid Sloshing In Tank TrucksFigs, 1

The driving simulation program of the Daimler-Bens simulator in Berlin will be expanded by adding a subroutine representing the sloshing of liquids in tank trucks, for the analysis of accidents involving such vehicles. Emphasis here is placed on determination of forces exerted on the vehicle by the sloshing of cargo liquids inside.

Associated mechanical simulation models (spring-mass and pendulum models) are well known from aeronautical and astronautical engineering. On the basis of these models, a spatial and mechanical simulation model was prepared and programmed for simulation of the liquid. It features the superposition of a spring-mass model describing longitudinal sloshing and a pendulum model representing lateral sloshing. An experimental test setup was provided to assess the validity of the analytically prepared mathematical model, with the aid of experiments performed on scaled-down tank-truck models.

This report treats the correlation found between the mathematical analysis and the experiment, as well as the significance of liquid sloshing as a factor contributing to vehicle accidents.