Abstract
Hydroelastic responses of floating elastic surfaces to incident nonlinear waves of solitary and cnoidal type are studied. There are N number of the deformable surfaces, and these are represented by thin elastic plates of variable properties and different sizes and rigidity. The coupled motion of the elastic surfaces and the fluid are solved simultaneously within the framework of linear beam theory for the structures and the nonlinear Level I Green–Naghdi theory for the fluid. The water surface elevation, deformations of the elastic surfaces, velocity and pressure fields, wave reflection and transmission coefficients are calculated and presented. Results of the model are compared with existing laboratory measurements and other numerical solutions. In the absence of any restriction on the nonlinearity of the wave field, number of surfaces, their sizes and rigidities, a wide range of wave–structure conditions are considered. It is found that wave reflection from an elastic surface changes significantly with the rigidity, and the highest reflection is observed when the plate is rigid (not elastic). It is also found that due to the wave–structure interaction, local wave fields with different length and celerity are formed under the plates. In the case of multiple floating surfaces, it is observed that the spacing between plates has more significant effect on the wave field than their lengths. Also, the presence of relatively smaller floating plates upwave modifies remarkably the deformation and response of the downwave floating surface.
Highlights
Floating elastic surfaces have been the subject of extensive research because of their widespread applications
Wave interaction with floating ice sheets is of interest due to the effect that the ice has on the wave field and the impact of waves on the ice floes, when it results in breaking of the ice to smaller pieces [38]
We conclude that the numerical solution developed here can be used to predict the hydroelastic response of the complex systems of floating elastic plates under various nonlinear wave conditions
Summary
Floating elastic surfaces have been the subject of extensive research because of their widespread applications. Guyenne and Parau [21] approached the problem of wave attenuation by irregular array of ice floes by using mathematical formulation with elasticity function varying between zero in open waters and nonzero in the ice-covered region Their solution was based on the full time-dependent equations for nonlinear potential flow, but was limited to a solitary wave case and the ice of negligible mass and thickness. Kohout et al [34] solved a twodimensional multiple floating elastic plate problem via an extension of the matched eigenfunction expansion method of Fox and Squire [15] Within this approach, they considered regions of open water as arising from limiting cases of plates of vanishing thickness.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
