A Numerical Investigation of the Slamming Event Through FSI Analysis

Abstract

Consciously, the Maritime Industry / Classification Societies / Marine Engineers / Naval Architects have over the century engaged in progressive research work in the subject area of hull slamming to understand its complexity and the physics behind / underlying it. This is evident owing to the number of publications and literature in this subject area over the decade only. Achieving this global aim will ensure that slamming and slamming induced whipping are incorporated and its effects accounted for in Classification Rules pertaining to structural design and hull integrity in the early stages. Different theories, methods and approaches have been utilized in the various research studies into hull slamming that include momentum theory, boundary element methods, statistical methods, analytical methods computational fluid dynamics – CFD, SPH methods, experimental techniques and full scale experiments. However, each of these methods have limitations and challenges though helping to bridge the gap from what was unknown about slamming in the past to what is being known about the phenomenon in recent times. The future of research and analysis in slamming is through the use of numerical methods most specifically CFD. In view of this, the current research study which is focused on a “Numerical Investigation of the Slamming Event Through FSI Analysis” was carried out by means of a co-simulation using STAR-CCM+, a CFD software and ABAQUS, a FE Software. Investigations were made into the effect of deadrise angles, the effect of the compressibility of air and water (the fluid) and the effect of the magnitude of the water entry velocity / impact velocity. Results from the simulations on the three different focus areas indicate that the unlikely event of slamming / the phenomenon is sensitive to the deadrise angles, compressibility of the fluid and the magnitude of the impact velocity.