Hydroelastic Modeling of Wet Deck Slamming on Multihull Vessels

Slamming against the wet deck of a multihull vessel in head sea waves is studied analytically and numerically. The theoretical slamming model is a two-dimensional, asymptotic method valid for small local angles between the undisturbed water surface and the wet deck in the impact region. The disturbance of the water surface as well as the local hydroelastic effects in the slamming area are accounted for. The elastic deflections of the wet deck are expressed in terms of dry normal modes. The structural formulation accounts for the shear deformations and the rotatory inertia effects in the wet deck. The findings show that the slamming loads on the wet deck and the resulting elastic stresses in the wet deck are strongly influenced by the elasticity of the wet deck structure.