Modelling and Simulation of Water Impact

Abstract

The main objectives are the understanding of the general phenomenon of impact on water and its numerical simulation. The programs used are based on the classical Finite Element method and the smoothed particle hydrodynamics technique. The hybrid technique has been investigated using the code DRI-KRASH. In a first step, time was devoted to the comprehension and the state of the art of the knowledge concerning the general problem of impact on water. Then, finite element simulations with the explicit code PAM-CRASH of the vertical impact on water of simple rigid and non-rigid bodies were conducted. A new technique called smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) was alo investigated and applied to the simulation of impact. Finally, a local/global methodology combining the finite element code PAM-CRASH and the hybrid code DRI-KRASH is described and applied to airframe water impact simulations. In order to prove its feasibility, this methodology has been applied to the simulation of the ditching of a whole aircraft structure.