ALE Finite Element Analysis of the WIG Craft under the Water Impact Loads

Demand for high speed sea transportation modes has been increased dramatically last few decades. The WIG(Wing-in-ground effect) is considered as next generation maritime transportation system. In the structural design of high speed marine vessels, an estimation of water impact loads is essential. The dynamic structural responses of the WIG excited by the water impact loads may bring an important contribution to their damage process. The work presented in this paper is focused on the numerical simulation of the water impact on the WIG craft when it lands. It is aimed to study the structural responses of the WIG craft subjected to the water impact loads. The Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) finite element method is used to simulate the water impact of the WIG craft during a landing phase. A full 3D shell element is used to model the WIG craft in carbon composites, and a developed FE model is used to investigate the effect of the water impact loads on the structural responses of the WIG craft. In the analysis, two different landing scenarios are considered and their effects on the structural responses are investigated.