A Numerical Investigation of a Corrugated Wedge Impacting Water

The load assessment in water entry problems in-volving complex geometries is generally a quite chal-lenging task for numerical solvers. Indeed, the oc-currence of large free-surface deformation, air cush-ioning and possible compressibility effects strainsthe standard CFD codes to their limits. In thepresent work, an enhanced Smoothed Particle Hy-drodynamics (SPH) model is adopted to evaluatethe pressures acting on the surface of a corrugatedwedge impacting water and the numerical outcomesare compared to experimental data. Specifically, thewater entry of a Mark III type panel (a corrugatedinsulation panel) adopted in LNG tanks is consid-ered. Experimental data involving wet drop testshave been provided by HHI. The pressures duringthe impact were measured at several points alongthe wedge surface. For comparison purposes thewet drop test was also performed with a flat sidedwedge. An impact angle of 4 o was considered inboth test cases.