Effects of plate stiffness on fluid-structure interaction in high-speed plate ditching

In this paper the role played by the plate deformability on the loads generated during the water impact of a plate at high horizontal speed is investigated on the basis of the experimental data of the FP7-SMAES project. Several test conditions are examined by varying the impact velocity, the pitch angle, the plate thickness and material (aluminium and CFRP panels). Comparisons established between the results obtained at the same impact conditions but for different plate stiffness reveal that, in spite of a general reduction of the pressure peaks, the total loads increas substantially, up to 40% in some cases, as a consequence of the plate deformation, independently if the deformation is of elastic or permanent origin. This result indicates that in strong fluid-structure interaction problems an accurate estimate of the loads can only be achieved if the structural deformation is properly reproduced.