The transport of hazardous materials in truck cargo tanks can cause severe environmental damage as a result of the tank’s failure during a collision. Impact due to collision involves the transient dynamic response of the tank, fluid and their interaction. This paper develops a design oriented computational approach to predict the dynamic transient response of the tank shell structure subjected to impact loads during crash accidents. In order to compute the fluid and structural interaction, the finite element formulations for the added mass to the structure are developed and integrated with DYNA3D, a nonlinear dynamic structural finite element code, and they are validated by pendulum impact experiment. This paper presents the lumping process required by the added mass approach for cargo tanks under impact conditions. Thus, due to its efficiency the computer based approach provides a design tool for fluid filled thin walled structures in general and cargo tanks subjected to an impact situation. The structural performance of cargo tank shell construction is investigated. This research will contribute to improvement in design, modeling, and analysis techniques for crashworthiness and integrity of liquid mechanical structure systems which are subjected to impulsive loads like those found in vehicle collisions.
Erratum: “Nonlinear vibrations of suspended cables—Part I: Modeling and analysis” [Applied Mechanics Reviews, 2004, 57(6), pp. 443–478]
