Response of a Ship's Panel to Turbulent Boundary Layer Pressure Fluctuations

An important hydrodynamic noise source for high speed vessels is the turbulent boundary layer attached to the ship's hull. To evaluate the structural vibrations induced by the fluctuating pressure field it is important to provide an accurate description of the spectral characteristics of the pressure load. In this frame an experimental campaign devoted to pressure and structural vibrations measurements was performed in a large towing tank on a model of a high speed catamaran. The pressure data analysis was devoted to the derivation of simplified analytical models for the pressure cross spectral density. The structural measurements were performed on a plexiglass plate inserted in the hull bottom. The comparison of the experimental data with the results of a numerical analysis demonstrated the effectiveness of the laws adopted for the pressure spectra description.