Impact of structures on the water surface: An upper bound analysis of the induced stress

The analysis of stresses induced in panels slamming on the water surface is considered. The analysis requires the development of two completely different techniques to approach the fluid dynamic and the structural responses. The hydrodynamic load is recovered by using the results of the acoustic approximation developed in [1] and in [2]. A fourth order flexural equation is used to determine the structural stress response. Although a general formulation for the coupled problem is stated, an analytical result is determined for the maximum stress induced in the impacting plate by means of an upper bound analysis of the modal response. The results obtained by the determined prediction method are finally compared with numerical simulation and experimental tests.