Fluid Motion Generated by Impact

In this paper we describe laboratory experiments and numerical simulations of the impact between a rigid body and water. The rigid body consists of a weighted rectangular box that slides down a curved ramp to enter the water at an angle to the horizontal of approximately 15°. As the box enters the water, a vigorous spray projects fluid beyond the box, then, as the water is heaved up, it falls back on the upper surface of the box and initiates a solitary wave. The experiments cover a wide range of impact velocities and three water depths in the main body of the tank. The experiments have been simulated using the Lagrangian particle method smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH).