Numerical-analytical evaluation about the impact in water of an elastic wedge using the SPH method

Abstract. In a preliminary study about the structural behaviour of a body, the material can be supposed infinitely rigid. This choice is useful to simplify the problem and to obtain results that well approximate reality. In this specific case under study, it proves how the effect of the material elasticity has a fundamental role on the pressures developed when a wedge impacts water. The analysis is made using ANSYS LS-DYNA software modelling the wedge through the FEM method, characterized by the material defined by the MAT_001-ELASTIC keyword, and the water defined by the SPH (Smoothed-Particle Hydrodynamics) method. The elastic body behaviour will be evaluated through the presence of a displacement in the middle point, on the face impacting water, and the comparison between the obtained pressure and the one predicted by the analytical theories of von Karman1 and Wagner2, which study the impact of a rigid wedge.