A shockproof hull made of foam: A useful project for operations on uneven ice

The aim of this paper is to describe an innovative composite structure called SoftHull developed for marine and amphibious vehicles capable of deforming without breaking under external actions. It is composed by a hull made of elastic and lightweight foam, supported by a rigid frame and protected by a flexible "skin" so that it can absorb shocks and withstand to most of the unpredictable lacerations that can occur during operations. The peculiar structure of SoftHull is constituted by a bulky volume of closed cells foam tracing the shape of the hull, which warrants the buoyancy in every condition. This part is protected by an external rigid skin made by a thin layer of a resistant but deformable material. The framework sustains the superstructures and absorbs the small loads transmitted by the elastic hull. The two parts are connected in such a way that the soft-hull results resiliently linked to the upper rigid part.