Generalized Kirchhoff equations for a deformable body moving in a weakly non-uniform flow field

Abstract

The classical Kirchhoff’s method provides an efficient way of calculating the hydrodynamical loads (forces and moments) acting on a rigid body moving with six-degrees of freedom in an otherwise quiescent ideal fluid in terms of the body’s added-mass tensor. In this paper we provide a versatile extension of such a formulation to account for both the presence of an imposed ambient non-uniform flow field and the effect of surface deformation of a non-rigid body. The flow inhomogeneity is assumed to be weak when compared against the size of the body. The corresponding expressions for the force and moment are given in a moving body-fixed coordinate system and are obtained using the Lagally theorem. The newly derived system of nonlinear differential equations of motion is shown to possess a first integral. This can be interpreted as an energy-type conservation law and is a consequence of an anti-symmetry property of the coefficient matrix reported here for the first time. A few applications of the proposed formulation are presented including comparison with some existing limiting cases.