Impact of excitation frequency and fill levels on fuel sloshing in automotive tanks

Rajagounder, Rajamani (author), Nampoothiri, Jayakrishnan (author)

Fuel sloshing in modern automotive fuel tanks is analyzed in this study to provide a better understanding of fuel system performance. The behaviour of sloshing waves was investigated under varying excitation frequencies and fuel fill levels using both experimental and numerical methods. A sinusoidal motion was applied to the fuel tank along its transverse axis, and the resulting wave profiles were captured using a digital camera setup. Numerical simulations were conducted using the volume of fluid (VOF) model and a user-defined function (UDF) in ANSYS Fluent to predict the sloshing wave profiles. The study reveals distinct wave patterns depending on the excitation frequency. Standing and traveling waves were observed at 0.5 Hz and 0.6 Hz, while multiple traveling waves with wave collisions occurred at 0.7 Hz. Additionally, increasing the fuel fill level (from 25 % to 60 % of tank height) significantly enhanced the damping of sloshing wave oscillations. Regression equations were developed to quantify the relationship between excitation frequency, fill level, and sloshing wave amplitude. These findings may contribute to the design of fuel tanks that mitigate sloshing effects and enhance overall vehicle performance.

• Language: English
• Keywords: liquid sloshing, fuel tank, finite volume analysis, visualization, wave frequency
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FS - Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: 8 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 71, no. 3/4
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-172535
• UDC: 621
• ISSN on article: 2536-3948
• DOI: 10.5545/sv-jme.2024.1200
• COBISS.SI-ID: 247071747
• Publication date in RUL: 08.09.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Strojniški vestnik
• Shortened title: Stroj. vestn.
• Publisher: Fakulteta za strojništvo
• ISSN: 2536-3948
• COBISS.SI-ID: 294943232

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian

Abstract

Študija obravnava analizo procesa pljuskanja goriva v sodobnih avtomobilskih rezervoarjih z namenom boljšega razumevanja delovanja gorivnega sistema. Obnašanje valovanja pri pljuskanju je bilo obravnavano pri različnih vzbujalnih frekvencah in nivojih napolnjenosti rezervoarja, in sicer z eksperimentalnimi ter numeričnimi metodami. Rezervoar za gorivo je bil vzdolž prečne osi izpostavljen sinusnemu gibanju, profili valov pa so bili zajeti z digitalno kamero. Numerične simulacije so bile izvedene z uporabo aproksimacije proste površine (metoda VOF) in uporabniško definirane funkcije (UDF) v programu ANSYS Fluent. Študija je pokazala različne oblike valovanja glede na vzbujalno frekvenco. Pri frekvencah 0,5 Hz in 0,6 Hz so bili opaženi stoječi in potujoči valovi, pri 0,7 Hz pa več potujočih valov z medsebojnimi trki. Poleg tega je povečanje nivoja napolnjenosti (z 25 % na 60 % višine rezervoarja) bistveno izboljšalo dušenje oscilacij valov. Razvite so bile regresijske enačbe za kvantitativno opredelitev odnosa med vzbujalno frekvenco, nivojem napolnjenosti in amplitudo valov. Ti izsledki lahko prispevajo k načrtovanju rezervoarjev, ki zmanjšujejo učinke pljuskanja in izboljšajo delovanje vozila.

• Keywords: pljuskanje tekočine, rezervoar za gorivo, analiza končnih volumnov, vizualizacija, frekvenca valovanja