Numerical investigation of wave slamming of flat bottom body during water entry process

Abstract

A numerical wave load model based on two-phase (water-air) Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) type equations is used to evaluate hydrodynamic forces exerted on flat bottom body while entering ocean waves of deploying process. The discretization of the RANS equations is achieved by a finite volume (FV) approach. The volume of fluid (VOF) method is employed to track the complicated free surface. A numerical wave tank is built to generate the ocean waves which are suitable for deploying offshore structures. A typical deploying condition is employed to reflect the process of flat bottom body impacting waves, and the pressure distribution of bottom is also presented. Four different lowering velocities are applied to obtain the relationship between slamming force and wave parameters. The numerical results clearly demonstrated the characteristics of flat bottom body impacting ocean waves. © 2014 Xiaozhou Hu and Shaojun Liu.