Numerical Water Impacts of 2D Hull Forms Using Dynamic Overset Meshing

The phenomenon of ’slamming’ is often the critical design load for high-performance marine craft. Slamming involves the solid-fluid impact of a hull structure, resulting in large forces acting on the structure due to the large volume of water displaced quickly. Due to its importance in the design and operation of marine craft, the impact of hull sections into water has been the focus of a significant body of research. These studies have primarily focused on rigid shapes, so the effects of hydroelasticity have not been examined in detail. This paper presents a robust and practical methodology for water impacts involving overset meshing and the VOF method using the FLUENT solver. The framework involves a high resolution dynamic overset mesh attached to the body in a coarse static Cartesian background mesh. Results for a simple 2D wedge impact are compared to experimental, analytical, and numerical results and an excellent agreement to the validation material is observed. Finally, a 2D transverse section based on the ORMA60 racing yacht Banque Populaire VIII was studied. This methodology is used to obtain impact force and pressures. It is applicable for designers of high-performance sailing craft to improve the prediction of hydrodynamic loading on their hull-form designs. The work carried out in this study is part of an ongoing PhD investigating existing and proposed structural design configurations for high-speed marine craft and analysing failure mechanisms under slamming events. Various structural configurations will be analysed using the framework outlined in this paper.