| A new mathematical method especially for liquid motion in horizontal cylindrical tanks has been developed to investigate the fluid dynamics inside liquid cargo tank vehicles. The governing equations based on potential flow theory are rearranged by continuous coordinate mappings in such a way that the difficulties of direct discretization for numerical calculation are avoided. Corresponding numerical procedures have been established for sloshing problems in 2D partially filled road tanks to study transient lateral liquid responses under turning, lane change and double lane change manoeuvres.;Longitudinal liquid cargo vehicle dynamics has been investigated by equivalent mechanical models for two cases. The ride performance of partially filled compartmented tank vehicles has been investigated by using a linearized multi-degree-of-freedom dynamic model. The liquid motion in the partially filled tank is described as a linear spring-mass model. The power spectral density of seat accelerations has been utilized to study the influence of liquid motion on the ride quality under different conditions, including fill levels, vehicle speeds, road conditions, and types of liquid being carried. A nonlinear impact mechanical system that describes the liquid motion as a linear spring-mass system with an impact subsystem has been developed to investigate the longitudinal dynamic behaviour of partially filled tank vehicles under rough road conditions.;The established methodology will provide a useful tool for researchers, in performing investigations on liquid behaviour and dynamics of liquid-vehicle systems with horizontal cylindrical tanks. The research results will also benefit engineers in vehicle structure designing and manufacturing.;The newly developed method has been extended to solve dynamic liquid behaviour in partially filled 3D horizontal cylindrical tanks in a completely 3D manner. The transient longitudinal liquid motion and corresponding liquid forces and moments have been calculated for the tanks subjected to longitudinal acceleration input during the accelerating/braking operations. The influence of different accelerations, fill levels, hemispherical heads, the configuration of compartmented tanks and liquid distribution has been analyzed in detail in different situations. This methodology can be used for road tanks of arbitrarily shaped walls. It can also be easily integrated into coupled liquid-structure systems to systematically study the dynamics of vehicle systems subjected to liquid sloshing and other loadings. |
