Abstract: Equivalent trammel pendulum model is established to describe lateral liquid sloshing in common tanks, and its dynamical equation under non-inertial coordinate system is then derived. The accurate dynamic model of tank vehicle is established on the basis of vehicle force analysis. Thereafter, the model of tanker vehicle is established in TruckSim, and its dynamic response is analyzed. The results show that compared to normal trucks, tankers have slight understeer characteristics, and their turning radius decreases about 3%-7%. At the same time, tankers have much greater lateral load transfer, and their critical speed decreases more than 30% when liquid fill level is lower than 0.7. The ratio of pendulum mass to tanker mass is the main factor that alleviates vehicle roll stability, and it is determined mainly by liquid fill percentage and tank shape. Tank vehicle has quite bad stability when liquid fill percentage is 0.4-0.7, which should be avoided as much as possible. When liquid fill level is not lower than 0.8 most of the time, tankers with elliptical cross section are recommended, otherwise cylinder tank is a better choice. Liquid viscous has a great influence on vehicle transient dynamics. With its increase, vehicle steady time and its overshoot is greatly alleviated, and the function would be more obvious when tank vehicle is flatter.

Key words: tank vehicle; dynamics modeling; equivalent trammel pendulum model; roll stability; critical speed