An Analysis of Baffles Designs for Limiting Fluid Slosh in Partly Filled Tank Trucks

This study presents an analysis of effectiveness of different designs of baffles, including the conventional, partial and oblique, in limiting the manoeuvre-induced transient as well as steady-state fluid slosh forces and moments in a partly-filled tank truck. The effect of an alternating arrangement of partial baffles is also explored. A three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics model of a partly-filled tank is developed to study the relative anti-slosh properties of different baffles designs and layouts under combined idealized longitudinal and lateral acceleration fields and different cargo loads. The analyses are also performed for a cleanbore tank, which is validated using the widely-used quasi-static slosh model. The results suggest that the conventional transverse baffles offer important resistance to fluid slosh under braking manoeuvres, while the obliquely placed baffles could help limit the longitudinal as well as lateral fluid slosh under combined lateral and longitudinal acceleration excitations.