Study of Liquid Motion and Pressure Forces Applied on the Walls of Partially Filled Moving Tank
Various analytical, numerical and experimental studies have been developed to investigate the effect of liquid sloshing on the dynamic behavior of tank trucks. However, this type of studies is still complex and expensive. Mechanical models are used to simulate complex phenomena. Using these models in the simulation of deformable bodies provides both geometrical and physical aspects. In this study, a new 3D mechanical model is applied to simulate liquid motion in partially filled tank. This model, which is developed in previous study, is able to simulate lateral, longitudinal and vertical displacements. It may also evaluate pressure forces applied on the tank walls. The main idea of this model is to represent the liquid as a mesh of spring mass systems. The liquid was divided in multiple masses along each axis. The movement of each mass is simulated by displacement of its mass center; this constitutes the mesh nodes. Each adjacent two nodes are linked by flexible edges having a parallel spring and damper. The discretizing method of the liquid is applied; it is followed by computing of masses and initial coordinates of each node. We show, in detail, the method to obtain stiffness of the springs and damping coefficient of the dampers. Afterwards, equations of dynamic liquid motion are obtained. The system of equations is solved for some examples in order to compare results to the literature.Copyright (c) 2016 by ASME