303

Analysis of lateral sloshing forces within road containers

with high fill levels
J A Romero1*, O Ramı́rez2, J M Fortanell2, M Martinez2, and A Lozano3
1 Querétaro Autonomous University, San Juan del Rı́o, Querétaro, Mexico
2 Mexican Institute of Transport, Querétaro, Mexico
3 CONCYTEQ, Querétaro, Mexico

The manuscript was received on 18 February 2005 and was accepted after revision for publication on 25 October 2005.

DOI: 10.1243/09544070JAUTO42

Abstract: This paper describes the experimental assessment of lateral sloshing forces devel-
oped within scaled road tankers as a function of fill level and container shape, focusing on high
fill levels (from 90 to 98 per cent) and three container shapes (oval, modified oval, and circular).
The purpose of the study was to estimate the effect of sloshing forces on the lateral stability of
tank trucks when operating almost fully loaded. Water was used as the working fluid while
the lateral dimensional characteristics of the containers represented a reduction scale of road
tankers in the range of 1:5. Containers were subjected to a lateral excitation imparted by a
sinusoidal electromagnetic shaker that moved a wheeled container/support assembly at a
range of frequencies. The residual after-perturbation sloshing forces were measured by means
of a force transducer connected to the shaker ram, and recorded for analysis. For the 98 per cent
fill level, normalized sloshing forces were found to represent up to 4 per cent of the total liquid
weight. Application of these normalized forces to actual size tank trucks further suggests that
the rollover threshold acceleration of a rigidly suspended tank truck, due to sloshing, can be
reduced by 2 per cent for the 98 per cent fill level, and around 10 per cent for the 90 per cent
fill level. These already significant reductions in the roll stability of tank trucks would be more
severe for a spring suspended vehicle, thus rationalizing the rollover trend of such vehicles. The
use of longitudinal sloshing suppressors is strongly recommended.

Keywords: tank trucks, sloshing, experimental approach, heavy vehicle rollover

1 INTRODUCTION suggested that approximately 4 per cent of the tank

Tank trucks, whether fully or partially loaded, are
known to be more frequently involved in rollover-
related road accidents [1–4]. A US study has reported
rollovers in nearly 75 per cent of the total number of
tank truck highway accidents, while the rollover rate
for conventional solid cargo vehicles was in the order
of 54 per cent [5]. Although such figures are almost
twenty years old, it is assumed that such disparity
prevails as the technologies for such equipment
remain essentially the same. These statistics also re-
vealed the greater probability of a partly loaded tank
truck to suffer a rollover-related accident, especially
on curved sections of the road. It has been further
* Corresponding author: Faculty of Engineering, Querétaro
Autonomous University, San Juan del Rı́o, Querétaro, Mexico
76800. email: jaromero@uaq.mx
truck accidents could be attributed to sloshing of the
cargo within partly filled tanks [4].
The influence of sloshing cargo on the lateral
dynamics of the vehicle, and thus its stability, could
be described in view of three primary factors. One is
the inertial force associated with the liquid bulk
motion, representing a roll moment on the vehicle
as a function of the physical properties of the fluid,
tank geometry, and the fill level. A second effect
derives from the lateral shift in the centre of gravity
(c.g.) coordinates of the sloshing cargo that further
contributes to the roll moment on the vehicle. The
third effect is represented by the proximity of the
fundamental sloshing frequency with those frequen-
cies due to steering-induced excitation or the roll
and lateral natural frequencies of the vehicle. The
resonance due to sloshing frequency and the steering
excitation, however, has been reported as extremely

JAUTO42 © IMechE 2006 Proc. IMechE Vol. 220 Part D: J. Automobile Engineering
304 J A Romero, O Ramı́rez, J M Fortanell, M Martinez, and A Lozano

hard to find in practice since the vehicle manoeuvres

represent very low frequency inputs, when compared
with sloshing frequencies [1].
The magnitude of sloshing forces would depend
on the freedom of the fluid to move within the tank
and on the proportion of the fluid undergoing the
motion. While such freedom of movement of the
fluid is characterized by its free surface dimensions,
the amount of moving liquid depends on the fill level
of the container. Because the containers used for
carrying liquids have in general a non-rectangular
cross-section (e.g. oval, modified oval, and circular),
the container fill level will define both the proportion
of the fluid undergoing the motion and the size of
the free surface of the fluid.
In order to avoid dangerous situations derived
from cargo sloshing, tank trucking companies
attempt to operate their vehicles with higher fill
levels, in the order of 90–98 per cent, especially when
carrying dangerous materials. The remaining small-
space chamber (‘outage’) thus provides a space for
vapour buildup and thermal expansion of the fluid.
While lateral baffles are commonly used to enhance
the integrity of the tank structure and to limit the
longitudinal sloshing of the cargo, longitudinal
baffles, designed to limit lateral sloshing, are only
seldom used due to construction and cleaning diffi-
culties [4].
In this paper, the lateral forces developed due to
fluid sloshing within road tankers are characterized
through laboratory experiments performed on scaled
tanks, as a function of tank shape and fill level. While
fill levels considered are in the range of 90–98 per
cent, tank cross-section shapes include oval, modi-
fied oval, and circular. The potential effects of slosh-
ing forces on the lateral stability of tank trucks are
derived considering an unsuspended vehicle con-
figuration.
Fig. 1 Cross-section shapes of the tanks used in the
experiments: (a) oval, (b) modified oval, and
2 CONTAINER CHARACTERISTICS (c) circular.

Scaled tanks of different shapes were fabricated for

the study, including circular, oval and modified oval,
as shown in Fig. 1. Water was used as the working
liquid.
Each tank was fabricated with a steel sheet shell
and 5 mm thick transparent plexiglass end plates.
The end plates were fixed to the shell with appro-
priate seals, using a total of 10 bolts (7.9 mm in
diameter). The scaled tanks were designed to rep-
resent the lateral dimension of the actual tanks with
a scale in the order of 1 to 5.
The longitudinal dimension of each tank was lim-
ited to a comparatively small value to ensure mini-
mal contributions due to longitudinal slosh. Table 1
summarizes the lengths and volumes of the three
tanks.
3 DESCRIPTION OF THE TESTING FACILITY
AND METHODOLOGY
The methodology considered in this study rep-
resented the characterization of the residual, after-

Proc. IMechE Vol. 220 Part D: J. Automobile Engineering JAUTO42 © IMechE 2006
 Lateral sloshing forces within road containers with high fill levels 305

Table 1 Dimensions and volumes of the three tanks recording and analysis. The freeze image data
Longitudinal Peak lateral
related to the oscilloscope screen was downloaded
Volume dimension dimension into a laptop computer. The sloshing force was
Tank shape (mm3) (mm) (mm) recorded at a sample rate of 800 Hz for a period of
Circular 25 940 176 428 duration of 5 s. The sample period included the
Oval 25 690 171 505 switching from the steady to the no-perturbation
Modified oval 25 810 170 523 condition.
It should be noted that an ideal experimental
perturbation sloshing forces. Such forces follow a facility would include the means directly to measure
number of input cycles, necessary to reach a steady the transient and residual roll moments derived
state condition, after which a sudden cessation of from cargo sloshing under representative lateral
the perturbation takes place, as described in refer- accelerations. Such a facility should also consider the
ence [6]. compliance derived from tyres and suspension. How-
Each tank was installed within a rectangular en- ever, the present approach allows, with the minimum
closure, which was positioned on a horizontal sup- effort and instrumentation, clarification of the
port table through low friction bearings. The support importance of cargo sloshing under circumstances
table could be adjusted vertically to align the table that are often disregarded by researchers.
with an electrodynamic exciter head, as shown in
Fig. 2. The rectangular enclosure was coupled to the 3.1 Test matrix
electrodynamic shaker through a 1000 N force trans- Experiments were performed under different combi-
ducer to measure the total lateral force. A single-axis nations of fill level and tank shape for a range of
accelerometer was also mounted on the rectangular input frequencies, as described in Table 2. The range
enclosure to measure the lateral acceleration im- of perturbation frequencies used in this study
parted on the selected tank. The electrodynamic
shaker was able to generate harmonic excitation at Table 2 The test matrix
any frequency in the 0.75–100 Hz range. This allowed
Tank shape Circular Oval Modified oval
the accurate tuning-up of the input perturbation with
the fluid’s fundamental free sloshing resonance. Fill level (%) 90 92 94 96 98
Once amplified and conditioned, the signal from Nominal excitation 1.0 1.25 1.5 1.75 2.0 2.25
frequency (Hz)
the force transducer was sent to an oscilloscope for

Fig. 2 Schematic representation of the experimental set-up

JAUTO42 © IMechE 2006 Proc. IMechE Vol. 220 Part D: J. Automobile Engineering
306 J A Romero, O Ramı́rez, J M Fortanell, M Martinez, and A Lozano
allowed the making of spectral diagrams of peak
residual forces as a function of tank shape and fill
level. The testing sequence was randomized, includ-
ing two replicas for each testing condition. It should
be noted that excitation frequencies in Table 2 rep-
resent nominal frequencies, so that the exact values
for such frequencies are presented later in Figs 5
and 7.
4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The methodology and equipment described above
were used to characterize the dynamic response of
the contained liquid to lateral accelerations, in terms
of the residual sloshing forces and as a function of
tank shape and fill level.
Figure 3, as an example, illustrates the time histor-
ies of sloshing forces developed due to fluid sloshing
within the three tanks at 92 per cent fill. The peak
force observed during the first cycle was considered
to characterize the sloshing force corresponding to
each fill condition and input frequency. The results
in this figure further demonstrate that for such a fill
level the peak sloshing forces associated with the
wider modified oval section are 60 per cent greater
than the peak forces corresponding to the narrower
circular section. The wider modified oval shape also
results in a longer period of fundamental fluid oscil-
lation when compared with the circular shape.
Fig. 3 Time histories of lateral sloshing force measured for three different tank shapes (fill
volume=92 per cent)
Proc. IMechE Vol. 220 Part D: J. Automobile Engineering
The results also reveal the considerable influence
of the tank shape on the rate of decay of oscillation
and thus the damping effect, with the circular tank
exhibiting the lowest damping. These variations in
the damping characteristics are attributed to the
different boundary conditions posed by the different
tank shapes, represented in terms of the angle
between the tank wall and the liquid free surface (a),
as shown in Fig. 4. The smallest angle a yields the
greatest damping effect, further suggesting that the
damping action derives from the contact between
the tank wall and the liquid.
4.1 Influence of excitation frequency
A range of input frequencies was considered to charac-
terize the effect of input frequency on fluid response.
Figure 5 illustrates the variations in measured
residual peak sloshing force as a function of the
excitation frequency, fill level, and tank shape, clearly
revealing resonant peaks for 90 and 94 per cent fill
levels for all three tank shapes. The 98 per cent fill
condition, however, does not exhibit a clear resonant
peak, which is attributed to the small space available
for liquid sloshing at such a fill level. This little
mobility would also be causing significantly lower
sloshing forces.
The average magnitudes of the sloshing peak
forces for the range of excitation frequencies con-
sidered are now analysed to determine which combi-
JAUTO42 © IMechE 2006
 Lateral sloshing forces within road containers with high fill levels 307

Fig. 4 Angle between the tank wall and the free surface of different tank shapes (fill volume=
92 per cent)

Fig. 5 Variations in peak sloshing force as a function of excitation frequency for different fill
levels and tank shapes: (a) circular, (b) oval, and (c) modified oval

nation of tank shape and fill level tends to create the
greater sloshing forces. Figure 6 illustrates such
average forces, revealing that the tank shape generat-
ing the greater sloshing forces is a function of the fill
level, while for the 90 per cent fill level the modified
oval causes the greater average sloshing forces, and
for the 98 per cent fill level such a tank shape causes
the lower values for the average sloshing forces. This
mixed performance is attributed to the influence of
tank shape and fill level on the free surface length,
tangential angle a, and outage maximum height h.
In this respect, Table 3 illustrates these dimensions
as a function of tank shape for the 98 per cent
fill level, showing that the tank shape that yields
the minimum average forces (modified oval) also
exhibits the minimum outage height and tank wall
angle. Figure 6 also reveals important reductions in
average sloshing forces with increases in fill levels.

JAUTO42 © IMechE 2006 Proc. IMechE Vol. 220 Part D: J. Automobile Engineering
308 J A Romero, O Ramı́rez, J M Fortanell, M Martinez, and A Lozano
Fig. 6 Average sloshing forces as a function of fill level and tank shape
Table 3 Free surface length, outage maximum height,
and angle a between the liquid free surface
and tank wall (98 per cent fill level)
Outage maximum Free surface
Tank shape height (mm) length (mm) a (deg)
Modified oval 18 259 15
Circular 24 191 26
Oval 20 223 20
The average forces at 98 per cent fill level represent
approximately one-third of those at the 90 per cent
fill level.
4.2 Normalized sloshing forces and scaling
Figure 7 further illustrates the peak magnitudes of
sloshing forces, normalized to the cargo weight w of
the contained liquid, as a function of the frequency
of excitation. These results indicate that the maxi-
mum normalized sloshing force for the 90 per cent
fill level would be in the order of 4 to 5 per cent, and
around 1 per cent in the case of the highest fill level
of 98 per cent. Such values are used to estimate the
average sloshing forces that might be present in a
real, 20 m3 capacity tank truck loaded with the same
fluid, based upon the proportions of sloshing force/
liquid weight shown in Fig. 7. Figure 8 illustrates the
potential average forces that might be present in the
full-scale tank truck, revealing that for the 98 per cent
fill level such forces could be in the order of 1500 N.
It is noted that for that fill level forces of this magni-
Proc. IMechE Vol. 220 Part D: J. Automobile Engineering
tude are highly probable in practice, since the vari-
ation of peak sloshing forces with input frequency
was only marginal, regardless of the tank shape
(Fig. 5).
5 MOMENTS ON THE VEHICLE DERIVED FROM
SLOSHING
Both the magnitude of the lateral sloshing forces
and lateral shift in the coordinates of the liquid
mass centre contribute to the overturning moment
imposed on a tank vehicle. For the high fill level case,
however, the shift of the cargo c.g. can be considered
to be insignificant while the higher vertical c.g. co-
ordinate could yield a high roll moment.
The contribution of the lateral sloshing force to the
roll moment imposed on a vehicle could be evalu-
ated by considering the roll-plane model of a rigidly
suspended vehicle, as shown in Fig. 9. This figure
illustrates a limit rollover condition for a simplified
rigid tank truck that is negotiating a right turn.
The nominal rollover threshold (NRT) of a rigidly
suspended vehicle with conventional solid cargo is
the ratio of the half track width (T ) and c.g. height
(h ), such that NRT=T/h . The contribution due to
v v
a resultant sloshing force F acting at height h from
s s
the ground can be evaluated from the roll moment
equilibrium about the point O at the interface of the
inboard wheels and the ground plane, such that
(m +m )a h +F h =(m +m )gT (1)
c t y v s s c t
JAUTO42 © IMechE 2006
 Lateral sloshing forces within road containers with high fill levels 309

Fig. 7 Variations in normalized peak sloshing force as a function of excitation frequency for
different fill levels and tank shapes: (a) circular, (b) oval, and (c) modified oval

where m and m are masses due to liquid cargo, and This equation suggests that the moment induced by
c t
the tank and vehicle structure alone respectively; the sloshing force causes a vehicle rollover threshold
a and g are the applied lateral acceleration and (NRT) that is lower than that of the solid cargo
y
acceleration due to gravity respectively. Assuming the vehicle. The second term on the right-hand side of
following linear relationships equation (3) thus defines the degree of reduction in
the rollover threshold that could be attributed to the
a
m =k m , h =k h , F =k m g, a* = y lateral force. The rollover threshold acceleration of
c 2 t s 1 v s 3 c y g
the tank vehicle can be expressed as
(2)
a* =NRT−SF (4)
y
where k , k , and k represent dimensionless con-
1 2 3 where SF=k k k /(k +1) is defined as the reduc-
stants of the relative proportions of the height of the 1 2 3 2
sloshing force, the magnitude of the cargo mass, and tion factor.
the value of the sloshing force respectively. The solu- It should be noted in these expressions that k is
3
tion of equation (1) for the rollover threshold acceler- the absolute value of the percentage results pre-
ation a* of the tank vehicle is thus expressed as sented in Fig. 7 for the fluid sloshing effect. Figure 10
y illustrates the effect of the variations of k on the SF,
T k k k 3
expressed as a percentage of NRT for given values of
a* = − 1 2 3 (3)
y h k +1 m , m , h , T, and h .
v 2 c t s v

JAUTO42 © IMechE 2006 Proc. IMechE Vol. 220 Part D: J. Automobile Engineering
310 J A Romero, O Ramı́rez, J M Fortanell, M Martinez, and A Lozano
Fig. 8 Average sloshing forces as a function of fill level and tank shape for a 20 m3 capacity
container
Fig. 9 Roll plane of a rigidly suspended tank vehicle
with a high fill level
These results suggest that the static roll stability
limit of a tank truck deteriorates as the lateral slosh-
ing force proportion k increases and also that the
3
normalized reduction factor could approach ap-
proximately 10 per cent when the peak sloshing force
approaches 4 per cent of the cargo weight. This 4 per
cent was observed in the case of the resonant con-
dition for the 90 per cent fill level, regardless of the
tank shape. This 10 per cent reduction in the rollover
threshold further signifies a decrease in the order of
Proc. IMechE Vol. 220 Part D: J. Automobile Engineering
Fig. 10 Effect of variations in proportion of the slosh-
ing force k on the reduction factor SF, as
3
a percentage of NRT (h =1.5 m, h =2.8 m,
v s
T=0.8, m =16 000 kg; m =7000 kg)
c t
5 per cent in the rollover threshold speed for a vehicle
negotiating a curve.
However, the validity of this approach to evaluate
the effect of cargo sloshing on vehicle lateral stability
is limited by at least two factors. One is concerned
with the average values of the sloshing forces, which
varied as a function of input frequency. In this
respect, the only set of peak sloshing forces that
showed only a marginal sensitivity to input frequency
was the one corresponding to the highest fill level
(98 per cent). On the other hand, the dynamics of
sloshing forces implies that force F in Fig. 7 changes
s
JAUTO42 © IMechE 2006
 Lateral sloshing forces within road containers with high fill levels
orientation, at a rate that depends upon the fluid
level and tank shape.
Furthermore, the proposed methodology to esti-
mate the effect of sloshing forces on the roll stability
of tank trucks represents a limited approach, since
suspension and tyre compliances would tend to
magnify the effect of lateral forces on the vehicle roll
response.
6 SUMMARY AND FINAL REMARKS
An experimental approach has been described for
determining magnitudes of lateral sloshing forces
within tanks of different shapes under high fill vol-
umes. The study was focused on fill volumes in the
90–98 per cent range, which are typical in the trans-
portation of bulk liquid cargoes. The study con-
sidered three container shapes that are commonly
used in commercial applications (i.e. oval, circular,
and modified oval). Dimensional characteristics of
the tested containers represented a reduction scaling
in the order of 1:5 with respect to actual road tankers.
The ratio of longitudinal to lateral dimensions of the
testing containers was limited to a small value to
suppress the potential contribution due to longi-
tudinal fluid slosh. An electromagnetic shaker was
used to apply harmonic lateral perturbations to the
container at different discrete frequencies, while the
measured data were analysed to derive peak lateral
sloshing forces as functions of the tank shape, fill
level, and excitation frequency.
Generally speaking, the measurements revealed
variations of peak sloshing forces with variations in
input frequencies. In particular, resonant peaks were
observed for the lower fill levels (92 to 96 per cent),
while for the 98 per cent fill level no significant peak
occurred. This was attributed to the small amount
of mobility of the liquid as a result of the small
outage space.
The residual sloshing response of the fluid indi-
cated different damping rates as a function of tank
shape. The modified oval tank yielded the higher
damping effect, which is attributed to the smaller
angles between the free surface and the tank wall for
such high fill levels.
For each tank, the average sloshing force for the
full range of input frequencies was significantly
influenced by the fill level, with the lowest average
force (at 98 per cent fill level) representing about one-
third of the highest average force (at 90 per cent fill
level). Normalized sloshing forces revealed peak
values from 0.7 to 4 per cent of the weight of the
contained liquid.
JAUTO42 © IMechE 2006
311
Ranking the different tank shapes in terms of the
corresponding average sloshing forces results in a
function of the fill level. While the ranking order from
the lowest to the highest sloshing forces is circular–
oval–modified oval for the 90 per cent fill level, the
opposite ranking order is obtained for the 98 per cent
fill level. This particular result is attributed to
changes in the characteristics of the outage space
due to such variations in the fill level. These charac-
teristics include the outage’s length and average
height, and the angle between the fluid free surface
and the tank wall.
The observed ratios of the sloshing force to fluid
weight were considered in order to evaluate the effect
of sloshing forces on the roll stability of a full size
vehicle, which is expressed as a rollover threshold
reduction factor. The results suggest that the lateral
sloshing forces due to 98 per cent fill level could
cause rollover threshold reductions in the order of
2 per cent, and around 10 per cent due to the 90 per
cent fill level.
In the light of (a) the experimental results, (b) the
estimations for the different reductions in the critical
acceleration and travelling speed, and (c) the
assumptions made concerning the rigidly suspended
vehicle, it is concluded that the sloshing forces in
highly filled tank trucks can severely affect the roll
dynamics of the tank trucks, further rationalizing the
rollover trend of tank trucks. Consequently, new
regulations for tank trucks should consider the
mandatory use of longitudinal sloshing suppressors.
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Proc. IMechE Vol. 220 Part D: J. Automobile Engineering
312 J A Romero, O Ramı́rez, J M Fortanell, M Martinez, and A Lozano

lateral sloshing in scaled road containers. In Tenth h height of the loaded truck’s centre of gravity
International Congress on Sound and Vibration, v
k cargo mass–truck mass ratio
Stockholm, Sweden, 7–10 July 2003. 1
k fluid free surface height–truck’s centre of
2
gravity height ratio
k sloshing force–cargo weight ratio
3
APPENDIX m cargo mass
c
m empty truck mass
t
NRT nominal rollover threshold
Notation
SF reduction factor
a manoeuvre lateral acceleration T half of the truck’s track width
y
a* limit lateral acceleration
y
F sloshing force a angle between the liquid free surface and
s
h fluid free surface height tank wall
s

Proc. IMechE Vol. 220 Part D: J. Automobile Engineering JAUTO42 © IMechE 2006