Experimental testing of liquid slosh suppression in a suspended container with compound-pendulum dynamics

Liquid slosh is a concern for industries that move liquids in rapid or precise operations. The majority of existing control techniques utilize feedback control to reduce liquid slosh. On the other hand, open-loop input shaping has shown to be robust and effective in minimizing liquid slosh without the use of sensors. This paper examines through experimentation the use of a wide range of input shapers to reduce liquid slosh. The container used in the experiments is suspended from an overhead trolley and exhibits compound-pendulum dynamics. Test results demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of input shaping in reducing liquid slosh and the ability to provide fast settling times over a broad range of frequency variations. The results also provide a thorough comparison of several different types of input shaping. These results will help guide engineers working on slosh-control problems.