One of the main fluid mechanics phenomena is fluid sloshing which is originated from the free surface of fluid and should be taken into account in design of fluid structures such as fuel tank wagons, ships and so on. The aim of this paper is to investigate the effect of tank fluid sloshing on energy absorption and reducing tank acceleration during the tank wagon impact. For this purpose, methods of software simulation and dynamics solution methods are accomplished. The assumed wagon includes a tank with the approximate volume of 95 m3 and capacity of 65 tons of fluid. Using finite element method, the tank impact is simulated based on the corresponding standards for different heights of fluid in the tank. Obtained results show fluid height increase has an inappropriate effect on energy absorption among impact however the more fluid in tank, the more time would be consumed for energy absorption in general. At the end, by using crash test results for a tank with aforementioned scale, validity of impact software simulation and dynamic solution method considering the tank fluid as mass-spring model are checked.
In this paper, a coupled model is developed to evaluate the effect of transient fluid slosh on the railway tank wagon dynamic vice versa. This model has computational complexity in solving the Navier–Stokes equations and nonlinear differential equations of tank wagon vibration with nonlinear wheel–rail contact. The coupled model can be used as an effective and robust tool compared to simplified models for assessing the stability of tank wagon. The transient fluid slosh model is analysed using the computational fluid dynamic method combined with the volume of fluid technique. The tank wagon dynamic model is solved using the fourth-order Runge–Kutta method based on the 19 degrees of freedom model with longitudinal, vertical, roll and pitch vibrations. The wheel–rail contact is considered according to nonlinear Hertzian and Kalker linear rolling contact theories. The fluid slosh model is validated using experimental data. The dynamic response characteristics of the partially filled railway tank wagon are investigated under straight-line braking manoeuvre using the coupled model. The results obtained from a parametric study, including the cross sectional shape and the filled volume show that the modified-oval cross section improves the dynamic response characteristics, which are attributed to its lower fluid's centre of gravity coordinate in the longitudinal direction and low lateral moment transfer of the fluid.
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