Kinematic and inertial hydroelastic effects caused by vertical slamming of a flexible V-shaped wedge

Abstract

Due to the increasing use of composite materials in high-speed planing craft prone to frequent slamming, the interaction between the structural response and hydrodynamic loading, hydroelasticity, must be considered. In this work, a V-shaped wedge model with 20° deadrise angle was vertically dropped into the calm water to simulate a typical hydroelastic slamming. With varied impact velocity and flexural rigidity of the wedge bottom plate a wide range of hydroelasticity factors, 0.1≤R≤6.4, were examined. Measurements included rigid-body kinematic motions of the wedge model, spray root propagation, hydrodynamic loading, and structural response. It was found that the maximum deflection and strain occur in the chine-unwetted phase in this study. The kinematic effect of hydroelasticity changes the spray root propagation and hence the pressure, while the inertial effect increases the natural period of the plate.