Numerical study of water impact of an elastic cylindrical shell using coupled FVM-FEM method

A coupled finite volume and finite-element method is employed to simulate the water impact characteristics of the rigid and elastic cylindrical shells. The Volume of Fraction method is applied for capturing the liquid level. The macroscopic movement and deformation of the cylindrical shells are simulated and described in detail. The effect of parameters including the elastic modulus, the thickness and the initial impact velocity of the elastic cylindrical shells on water impact characteristics during the entry process is studied. The extrusion process resulting due to the elastic cylindrical shell’s water impact has an obvious influence on the pressure coefficient at the bottom surface of the shell. From the results, vibration phenomenon can be noticed in the local pressure coefficient value of the elastic cylindrical shell’s bottom surface whose first peak value is smaller than that of the rigid shell. It is shown that the macroscopic movements of the elastic cylindrical shell and the rigid shell are similar. In addition, the elastic modulus of the cylindrical shell has a significant effect on the first peak pressure coefficient at the bottom surface of the cylindrical shell and also on the vibration period of the shell. The thickness and the initial impact velocity of the shell also have a significate effect on the pressure coefficient at the bottom of the shell.