Numerical Study on the Extreme Impact Load of Wavy-Water Ditching

Abstract

In this paper, numerical method is used study the extreme impact load and its physical causes during the wavy aircraft ditching. the finite volume method and VOF method are used to capture the free surface, six degrees of freedom model and global motion mesh to deal with the relative motion between water and aircraft. and simulate the forced landing process of the aircraft. By choosing the place with the largest vertical velocity relative to the water as the impact position, the extreme impact load on the fuselage is predicted. In this paper, during the impact stage of the wavy water surface, the fuselage encountered an impact peak which is unforeseen on the calm water surface, and the magnitude of the impact peak was related to the sinking speed of the aircraft relative to the water surface. This paper also compares the movement attitude and overload history of aircraft ditching under five sea conditions with different wave height, and gives the influence rules of wave height on the extreme impact load and the peak values of other parameters, which provides a reference for the design of aircraft load distribution.