Asymmetric water impact of a two dimensional wedge: A systematic numerical study with transition to ventilating flow conditions

Vessels and other marine structures are frequently subject to intense loads deriving from water impact under various conditions. Such forces influence both the structural resistance and the maneuvering capabilities of boats. Water impacts are also relevant in other fields, such as civil engineering, energy harvesting, and aerospace engineering. In this paper we numerically investigate the hydrodynamics related to the asymmetric water impact of a two dimensional wedge shape. We study the combined effects of geometrical and kinematic asymmetry by systematically varying the wedge roll angle and the direction of the impact velocity. The Volume Of Fluid (VOF) is utilized to model the free surface flow. The numerical model is validated against independent experimental data available in the literature. The results provided evidence the capabilities of multidimensional modeling in predicting global hydrodynamics and local fluid dynamics features of asymmetric impacts. Moreover, we demonstrate the importance of some fundamental methodological aspects, such as the correct initialization of the computational domain. The role of kinematic asymmetry in flow ventilation occurrence is also clearly highlighted. Our results are expected to facilitate the development of analytical and semi-analytical models and to offer guidelines for conducting experiments and parametric studies for the design of marine vessels.