On the Destabilizing Effect of Liquids in Various Vehicles? (part 1)

SUMMARY

The unrestrained free surface of a liquid has an alarming propensity to undergo large excursions for even very small motions of the container. This fact may endanger the stability, as well as the riding and maneuvering quality of the vehicle considerably. It is particularly true for fuel- or cargo tanks of automotive vehicles, railroad tank cars, for fuel tanks of large ships and tankers, for which violent sea conditions at times result in fairly large amplitudes of pitching, heaving and rolling, as well as for airplanes and spacevehicles flying through atmospheric disturbances. The response of liquids contained in cargo- or fuel tanks is therefore of quite some concern, especially in those cases where the sloshing liquid masses occupy a large amount of the total mass of the vehicle.

For this reason the theory of liquid motion with a free surface is presented for containers of various geometries. Forces and moments of the liquid exerted upon the vehicle are presented and a simple mechanical model for the representation of the liquid motion is derived. Methods for the reduction of the destabilizing effect of the liquid motion, such as baffles, cross walls and surface coverings are presented and shall exhibit their effectiveness. In addition the interaction of the liquid motion with the elastic structure of the container, as well as the interaction with a controlling system of the vehicle shall be demonstrated. Stability boundaries, design criteria and dynamic responses to disturbances shall be presented for a particular case.