Influence of liquid slosh on ride quality of liquid cargo tank vehicles

Abstract

Ride comfort helps to improve driving safety and vehicle control by increasing the stability of the vehicle and reducing driver fatigue. This paper investigates the ride quality of liquid cargo vehicles subjected to sloshing forces generated by the liquid carried in a partially filled tank. A multi- degree-of-freedom model of the dynamic response of the tank vehicle is established for the analysis of ride quality in a low-frequency domain. The dynamic liquid motion within the tank is modelled with a spring-mass sloshing system. Vibration data numerically simulated with the models are prepared as power spectral density (PSD) plots for the vertical and horizontal accelerations of the seat. Influences of various road conditions, liquid fill levels, vehicle speeds and types of seat suspension system on the ride quality of the vehicles are analysed and compared.