Wave interaction with a floating and submerged elastic plate system

Abstract

Surface gravity wave interaction with a floating and submerged elastic plate system is analyzed under the assumption of small-amplitude surface water wave theory and structural response. The plane progressive wave solution associated with the plate system is analyzed to understand the characteristics of the flexural gravity waves in different modes. Further, linearized long-wave equations associated with the wave interaction with the elastic plate system are derived. The dispersion relations are derived based on small-amplitude wave theory and shallow-water approximation and are compared to ensure the correctness of the mathematical formulation. To deal with various types of problems associated with gravity wave interaction with a floating and submerged flexible plate system, Fourier-type expansion formulae are derived in the cases of water of both finite and infinite depths in two dimensions. Certain characteristics of the eigensystems of the developed expansion formulae are derived. Source potentials for surface wave interaction with a floating flexible structure in the presence of a submerged flexible structure are derived and used in Green’s identity to obtain the expansion formulae for flexural gravity wavemaker problems in the presence of submerged flexible plates. The utility of the expansion formulae and associated orthogonal mode-coupling relations is demonstrated by investigating the diffraction of surface waves by floating and submerged flexible structures of two different configurations. The accuracy of the computational results is checked using appropriate energy relations. The present study is likely to provide fruitful solutions to problems associated with floating and submerged flexible plate systems of various configurations and geometries arising in ocean engineering and other branches of mathematical physics and engineering including acoustic structure interaction problems.