Impact of floats on water

Abstract

The impact of a wedge-shaped body on the free surface of a weightless inviscid incompressible liquid is considered. Both symmetrical and unsymmetrical entries at constant velocity are dealt with. The differential problem corresponds to the physicomathematical model of a distribution of potential singularities and, in particular, the flow singularities at the ends of the wetted regions are represented by sinks. A conformal transformation of the flow field is adopted and the unknown intensities of the discontinuities are found by an optimization procedure, together with the solution of the nonlinear free-surface problem. The flow separation at a sideslip is also considered.