Impact Dynamics of Supercavitating Projectile with Fluid/Structure Interaction

As supercavitating projectiles move at high speed, the periodic impacts ("tail-slap") on the interior surface of the cavity generally occur due to disturbances. The interactions between the projectile and the water/cavity interface are the sources of structural vibrations, which affect the guidance of the vehicle and undermine the structural reliability. The Fluid/Structure Interaction calculation procedure of the tail-slaps of supercavitating projectile is established, and the dynamic behaviours of the projectile operating in tail-slap conditions with and without considering Fluid/Structure Interaction are obtained and compared. The responses of the projectile riding a reducing cavity are studied, and the effect of Fluid/Structure Interaction is also analyzed. The results show that the angular velocity of projectile increases as the body slowing down, and the amplitude of the elastic displacement response decreases at the beginning and increases when the cavity size is close to the diameter of the tail of projectile. The effect of Fluid/Structure Interaction reduces the amplitudes and frequencies of the impact loads and the vibration responses of the body, and when the speed is higher, the effect is more apparent.