Water Impact Loads

This paper covers an analysis of different types of slamming experiments with account taken of different model structural characteristics and the effect of air entrapped in the water. Model data for peak impact pressure are found to correlate on the basis of an absolute pressure ratio and a velocity ratio that accounts for inertial effects. Scaling laws for slamming are identified. Impact pressure data from full-scale trials are compared with model data on the basis of the scaling laws identified from model data to demonstrate that the model data and the scaling laws are applicable to full-scale ships. Scale effects which may cause errors when extrapolating model results for impact pressure to the full scale are also discussed. A proposed basis for estimation of peak pressures for water impacts by use of model results is shown to result in conservative predictions when compared with full-scale measurements.