Water impact of rigid wedges in two-dimensional fluid flow

A combined experimental and numerical investigation was conducted into impact of rigid wedges on water in two-dimensional fluid conditions. Drop test experiments were conducted involving symmetric rigid wedges of varying angle and mass impacted onto water. The kinematic behaviour of the wedge and water was characterised using high-speed video. Numerical models were analysed in LS-DYNA® that combined regions of Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics particles and a Lagrangian element mesh. The analysis captured the majority of experimental results and trends, within the bounds of experimental variance. Further, the combined modelling technique presented a highly attractive combination of computational efficiency and accuracy, making it a suitable candidate for aircraft ditching investigations.